Why does Apache require the same thing twice?

resetreset · 04-02-2012, 10:44 AM

I'm just learning about this, in httpd.conf , we have to give it a "NameVirtualHost" which will be the IP of the server, and then AGAIN, in <VirtualHost <whatever ip>:80> .
My question is, why are BOTH of these reqd.?

Thanks.

bathory · 04-02-2012, 12:09 PM

Hi,

It's not the exactly same thing.
With NameVirtualHost you are configuring apache for name-based vhosts.
Using <VirtualHost x.x.x.x:yyyy> afterwards, you can define either name-based, ip-based or port-based vhosts (or all together), depending on the VirtualHost argument.
See this example to understand the difference.

BTW in new apache-2.4 NameVirtualHost is no more used

Regards