Using Virtual Hosts - Red Hat LINUX 7.2 Reference Manual

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13.5 Using Virtual Hosts

If you plan to use the Apache Configuration Tool, a GUI utility
provided with Red Hat Linux, you may not edit your Apache Web
server's httpd.conf configuration file. Conversely, if you want to edit
httpd.conf by hand, do not use the Apache Configuration Tool.
If you need more information on the Apache Configuration Tool,
please see the Official Red Hat Linux Customization Guide.
You can use Apache's virtual hosts capability to run different servers for different IP addresses, dif-
ferent host names or different ports on the same machine. If you are interested in using virtual hosts,
complete information is provided in the Apache documentation on your machine or on the Web at
http://httpd.apache.org/docs/vhosts/.
You cannot use name-based virtual hosts with your secure Web server, be-
cause the SSL handshake (when the browser accepts the secure Web server's
certificate) occurs before the HTTP request which identifies the appropriate
name-based virtual host. If you want to use name-based virtual hosts, they
will only work with your non-secure Web server.
Virtual hosts are configured within the httpd.conf file, as described in Section 13.3, Configuration
Directives in httpd.conf . Please review that section before you start to change the virtual hosts
configuration on your machine.
13.5.1 The Secure Web Server Virtual Host
The default configuration of your Web server runs a non-secure and a secure server. Both servers
use the same IP address and host name, but they listen on different ports, and the secure server is a
virtual host. This configuration enables you to serve both secure and non-secure documents in the
most efficient manner possible. Setting up the secure HTTP transmission is very resource intensive,
so generally you will be able to serve far fewer pages per second with a secure server. You need to
consider this when you decide what information to include on the secure server, and which you can
use the non-secure server for.
WARNING
Note
Chapter 13:Apache