Question

I would like to create a virtual host in apache2, but I want it to place the source files outside the /var/www folder, i.e. I need to include another document root in the config files, but I implemented it by editing the apache/sites-available/default file, but I know its not the right way to implement, can any one suggest the correct way of implementing it?

with thank and regards,

bala

Answer 1

You can create a new file (e.g. myvirtualhost) in the sites-available folder and then create a symlink in the sites-enabled. The file and the symlink can have any name.

Inside the new file you create a new virtual host definition:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    DocumentRoot /path/to/your/webapplication
    ServerName abc.local
</VirtualHost>

If you are deploying your application only locally for testing it is enough to set the server name to a .local domain (e.g abc.local) in this case you should edit the /etc/hosts file and add a new line like.

127.0.0.1 abc.local

If you want to make the new virtual host available on the internet you need to make sure that you have registered a valid DNS name with your provider (e.g. webapplication.mydomain.com).

Basically thats it. You may however want to add some directives to the virtual host definition to control access to your resources.