🌐 Apache Virtual Hosts

Virtual Hosts let you serve multiple websites from a single server – each with its own domain, root, and logs! Let's level up your Apache configuration. 🛠️

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🧠 What Are Virtual Hosts?

Apache Virtual Hosts allow:

• 🌍 Hosting multiple domains on one server
• 🔒 Per-domain SSL and logs
• 📁 Separate document roots and configs

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🏗️ HTTP Virtual Host Example (Port 80)

<VirtualHost *:80>
  ServerName example.com
  ServerAlias www.example.com
  DocumentRoot "/var/www/example"

  ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/example-error.log
  CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/example-access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

📝 Explanation:

• ServerName → Main domain
• ServerAlias → Extra domains like www
• DocumentRoot → Web files folder
• Logs → Tracks site activity and errors

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🔐 HTTPS (SSL) Virtual Host Example (Port 443)

<VirtualHost *:443>
  ServerName secure.example.com
  DocumentRoot "/var/www/secure"

  SSLEngine on
  SSLCertificateFile /etc/ssl/certs/secure.crt
  SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/ssl/private/secure.key

  ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/secure-error.log
  CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/secure-access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

✅ Don’t forget to run:

a2enmod ssl
a2ensite secure.example.com.conf
systemctl reload apache2

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🛠️ Setting Up Virtual Hosts on Ubuntu/Debian

1. 📄 Create a new vhost config:

   sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.com.conf

2. ✅ Enable the site:

   sudo a2ensite example.com.conf
   sudo systemctl reload apache2

3. ❌ To disable:

   sudo a2dissite example.com.conf

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📂 Directory Permissions Example

<Directory /var/www/example>
  Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
  AllowOverride All
  Require all granted
</Directory>

💡 Allows Apache to serve content and respect .htaccess files.

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🔍 Debugging Tips

Run:

apachectl configtest   # Check syntax
apachectl -S           # List active Virtual Hosts

📁 Logs:

• 🔧 /var/log/apache2/error.log
• 📊 /var/log/apache2/access.log

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💡 Best Practices

• 🧼 One config per domain (use sites-available)

• 🔐 Always use SSL in production

• 🎯 Use ServerAlias for subdomains

• 📁 Organize root directories clearly

• 🌐 Use IP-based vhosts if needed:

  <VirtualHost 192.168.1.50:80>

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📊 Quick Reference Table

Directive	Description
ServerName	Main domain name
ServerAlias	Additional domain names
DocumentRoot	Folder with site content
ErrorLog	Logs server errors
CustomLog	Logs site access
SSLEngine	Enable SSL (HTTPS)
SSLCertificateFile	SSL public certificate path
SSLCertificateKeyFile	SSL private key path

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🎉 That’s it! You’re now a Virtual Host pro. Ready for .htaccess.md or security.md next? 🔐