A virtual host is a method for hosting multiple domain names whereby a single device serves or runs multiple websites through a single instance of Apache HTTP Server (“httpd”). This allows one server to share its resources, such as memory and processor cycles, without requiring all services provided to use the same hostname. Please see How to uninstall WAMPServer from Windows, How to update WampServer to Latest Version, How to Create a Restore Point in Windows 11, How to Create a Restore Point in Windows 10 and Windows 11, and How to Install and Configure WordPress on Your Windows Computer Using WAMP SERVER. In this guide, I will be showing you how to create Virtual Hosts in a WAMPserver.
Types of Virtual Host Configurations
There are two types of Apache virtual host configurations: IP-Based Virtual Host and Name-based Virtual Host. In most cases, a name-based virtual host is recommended. Please see how to Install and configure TeamPass Password Manager.
IP-Based Virtual Host
In this configuration, we use different IPs for each domain. By this I mean, you are pointing two different websites (with different IP-address) to the server that runs Apache. That physical server should have two different IP-address configured.
This means that the server should have two ethernet cards. Each one is configured to the IP address of the corresponding website that the Apache virtual host will serve. So, this is not feasible for most aspects. An example, the server contains two NIC cards. One is configured with an IP Addres_1 pointing to a DNS entry_1, and another IP Address_2 pointing to another DNS entry_2.
Name-Based Virtual Host
Name-based virtual hosts are the most commonly and frequently used virtual hosting technique that is used today. In this configuration, The name-based Virtual host will use a single IP address for all the domains on the given server. When the browser is trying to connect to the server. It will send a message to the server informing about the domain name to which it is trying to connect.
When the Apache web server receives a request, it looks for the hostname in the HTTP header, and depending on the hostname, it servers different websites. In the following example, the server contains only one NIC card configured with an IP address pointing to the DNS entry. I will be using this method. If you do not create a virtual host when Installing and configuring TeamPass Password Manager, you will get the following error “TeamPass stuck on working on it“.
This is quiet easy as you only need a single IP-address on a physical server. But then have to update DNS with multiple entries (website names) pointing to the same IP-address. Port-Based
The Port-based is similar to IP-based virtual hosting. The difference between them is, instead of using a different IP address for each of the virtual hosts, we use different ports in which the servers are configured to respond to multiple websites that are dependent on the port of the server. Port-based virtual hosting is also possible in principle but is rarely used in practice because it is unfriendly to users.
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Create Virtual Hosts in a WAMPserver
Therefore, we will be using name-based virtual for configuring Apache Virtual Host as you can run several websites on the same server. In this article, I will not be using the httpd-vhosts.conf but directly from the page below (Wamp server Home page). It is simpler 🙂 To access the Wamp homepage, click on the Wmapserver icon and select localhost. You can as well open a web browser and type localhost directly.
If you do not create an Apache Virtual Host for Teampass, the installation will fail, and will be stuck working on it. Please see this article on how to fix TeamPass stuck on working on it.
As you can see below, the Wampserver home page is launched.
Click on Add a Virtual Host as shown below.
Copy the address as text from File Explorer for the absolute path of the virtual-host folder. This will be needed in the next window below.
Fill out both of the inputs outlined in red. Enter the name of your site, and the path to the directory as shown above.
You can optionally clear the DNS cache. To do this, Open the command line and enter ipconfig /flushdns
Right-click on Wamp Server and select the tool in order to restart the DNS.
As you can see, the Virtualhost has been created.
Note: HTTP is the communication protocol that allows a browser to communicate with a Web server. HTTPS adds a layer of security in communication, enabling data encryption using TLS/SSL. To configure a Virtual Host HTTPS, you must first configure a digital certificate. Please see this article on how to enable SSL on Wampserver.
I hope you found this blog post helpful on how to Create Virtual Hosts in a WAMPserver”. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comment session.