Set up Apache virtualhost on Windows

Question

How can I set up virtualhost for multiple domain name on Windows?

I will use it for my own test projects. I have three projects that I need to set up and at the moment I'm using xampplite for the portable Apache.

1. www.foo-bar.com --> direct to c:xampplitehtdocsfoo-bar
2. www.abcdef.com --> directo to c:xampplitehtdocsabcdef
3. www.qwerty.com --> direct to c:xampplitehtdocsqwertyweb

I also need to access on another project, but it just like typing http://localhost/my-project/

How can I write the vhost configuration for that?

Answer 1

You need to do several steps in order to make this work.

1. Update the hosts file. On Windows XP, you can find it under c:WINDOWSsystem32driversetc. You should already see the first line from below. It takes care of your mentioned other project. Add the additional ones to make any requests to the mentioned virtual hosts routed back to your own machine.

    127.0.0.1       localhost
    127.0.0.1       foo-bar.com
    127.0.0.1       abcdef.com
    127.0.0.1       qwerty.com
   

2. Update the vhosts file in Apache configuration. Under your XAMPP folder, add the following to apacheconfextrahttpd-vhosts.conf and if needed change the ports (i.e., if you use 8080 instead of port 80).

    <VirtualHost *:80>
        DocumentRoot C:/xampplite/htdocs/foo-bar/
        ServerName www.foo-bar.com
    </VirtualHost>
    <VirtualHost *:80>
        DocumentRoot C:/xampplite/htdocs/abcdef/
        ServerName www.abcdef.com
    </VirtualHost>
    <VirtualHost *:80>
        DocumentRoot C:/xampplite/htdocs/qwerty/web/
        ServerName www.qwerty.com
    </VirtualHost>
   

3. Do a quick configuration check. Open {XAMPP-folder}apacheconfhttpd.conf your file and make sure that the following part is not commented out by a preceding # character:

    Include conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf
   

4. Restart XAMPP.

... and you should be all setup now. Your other project should be accessible at the URI you mentioned if you just put it under C:/xampplite/htdocs/my-project/.