Access virtual host from another machine over LAN

Question

• I am using Windows 7 with Wamp 2.2 server.
• I have setup 2 virtual hosts: www.project1.com and www.project2.com.
• I have modified the "hosts", the httpd.conf, and the httpd-vhosts.conf files, to the changes I mentioned below.

Using my browser, when I type www.project1.com or www.project2.com, I successfully get my web pages opened on the laptop that has the server installed on.

Changes in the "hosts file": I've appended the followings to the end of the file:-

127.0.0.1       localhost
127.0.0.1       www.project2.com
127.0.0.1       www.project1.com

Changes in the httpd.conf file:-

Include conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf

Changes in httpd-vhosts file:-

NameVirtualHost *:80

<Directory "D:/websites/">
    AllowOverride All
    Order Deny,Allow
    Allow from all
    </Directory>
<VirtualHost 127.0.0.1>
    DocumentRoot "D:/websites/wamp/www/"
    ServerName localhost
</VirtualHost>


<VirtualHost 127.0.0.1>
    DocumentRoot "D:/websites/project1/"
    ServerName www.project1.com
</VirtualHost>


<VirtualHost 127.0.0.1>
    DocumentRoot "D:/websites/project2/"
    ServerName www.project2.com
</VirtualHost>

---

Now; since I can open these web pages from a browser in PC_1 (the one with the server), how can I access these web pages from a browser in PC_2? (I mean any PC connected to PC_1 via LAN.)

Answer 1

In addition to danp's answer, you can access the virtual host without having to change the client machine's etc/hosts file by assigning a port to the virtual host. This is ideal if you want to access the server with a mobile or tablet device:

1. Edit server's httpd.conf file at:

   \wamp\bin\apache\apache2.2.x\conf\httpd.conf
   

   Search for "Listen" (around line 61). You should see the following that allows for Apache to listen for port 80:

   Listen 0.0.0.0:80
   Listen [::0]:80
   

   Add the following lines to add listening for port 81 (or any port):

   Listen 0.0.0.0:81
   Listen [::0]:81
   

2. Edit the httpd-vhosts.conf file at:

   \wamp\bin\apache\apache2.2.x\conf\extra\httpd-vhosts.conf
   

   Change your "Virtual Host" tag to port 81:

   <VirtualHost *:81>
       DocumentRoot "D:/websites/project1/"
       ServerName www.project1.com
   </VirtualHost>
   

3. Restart Apache server.

4. On the client machine/tablet/mobile, on the web browser, enter the server's IP address (192.168.0.10, or whatever IP) followed by the port number in the following format:

   http://192.168.0.10:81