User Guide - Creating an Alias for a Site

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User Guide - Creating an Alias for a Site

Overview

An alias for a site, known in the PBA Control Panel as a Server Alias, is a way to map additional domain names to an existing site. This is useful when you want several domain names to serve the same content, or if you need to create a site for testing before you actually move the domain name to the eApps DNS or change its existing DNS to point to eApps

There is no limit to how many domain names you can create as an alias for an existing site. However, all the domains you want to use have to be added to the PBA Control Panel, and those domains have to point at the eApps name servers so they will resolve correctly.

This User Guide is a quick overview on adding a Server Alias to your site using the PBA Control Panel. For more information on managing the Apache web server and your sites, see the following User Guides:

Note This User Guide is for adding a Server Alias to the Apache web server, not an application server like Tomcat, JBoss, Ruby on Rails, or GlassFish. For information on troubleshooting sites using those application servers, see their specific User Guides - http://support.eapps.com/kb


Adding Domains to the PBA Control Panel
Creating a Server Alias for a Site
Using a Server Alias

Links to other information

Adding Domains to the PBA Control Panel

Before adding a domain as a Server Alias to a site, the domain has to exist in the PBA Control Panel. You can either add a new domain or a subdomain (although subdomains are usually created as separate sites).

To add a domain, go to the PBA Control Panel, System Tab. If necessary, click on the Select Another System (Subscription) link on the left, and choose the correct Virtuozzo Container.

Scroll to the bottom of the screen, and click on Domain Management, and then on All My Domains. In the All My Domains screen, click on Add Domain. Here you can add a domain or subdomain, and associate it with the correct Subscription, and manage the DNS.

 For a more detailed explanation, see the User Guide - Managing DNS and Domains - http://support.eapps.com/hsp/dns

Creating a Server Alias for a Site

Once the domain(s) you want to use as a Server Alias has been added to the PBA Control Panel, go to the Site tab on the Control Panel. If necessary, click on Select Another Site, and choose the site you want to add the Server Alias to.

Click on Website Settings Website settings

Click on the Server Alias tab (the second one from the left)

Server Alias

Click on Add Alias Add Alias

Select the Domain you want to add as a Server Alias from the drop down list. If you want to add the 'www' prefix for this Server Alias, check the 'www' box.

Select domain

Click Add to create the Server Alias.

Alias added


Note It may take 24 to 48 hours for the DNS to fully propagate for the new alias for this domain. The propagation time is usually in the one to two hour range, but 24 to 48 hours is possible.

If you are on this screen and have not added the domain you wish to use as the Server Alias, you can click on the add new domain link to do so, and then return to this screen to create the Server Alias.

Using a Server Alias

There are generally two reasons why you would use a Server Alias for an existing site. One is to have multiple domain names that resolve to the same site and site contents. The other is to set up a test site before you actually point the real domain name at your eApps VPS.

For the first example, assume that you have the site of example.com. For various reasons (SEO, catching domain misspellings, etc) you also want the same site content to be served if someone browses to example-domain.com or exmaple.com or other-example.com.

Instead of creating new sites for all these domains, and having to manage and update all these separate sites, you would simply add the domain names as Server Aliases to the original site. That way if someone went to http://exmaple.com (example misspelled), they would actually see the http://example.com site content.


For the second example, assume you have a domain of domain.com that is currently hosted on another hosting service, or that you don't want to make public yet. You would first add the main domain of domain.com as a Domain and as a Site in the PBA Control Panel, but either not choose DNS hosting, or make sure the DNS hosting for domain.com still pointed to your other hosting.

Then, in All My Domains, create a subdomain of domain.com.virtual.vps-host.net, (the Select Provider's domain option) and set that as the Server Alias for the domain.com site. This will allow you browse to http://domain.com.virtual.vps-host.net and test the files for the domain.com site, without having to change your DNS settings before you are ready to. Once you are ready for domain.com to be available to the public, you would then either choose eApps DNS for the domain, or point the DNS for the domain at the eApps name servers if you were hosting your DNS locally.

Links to other information

eApps Domain and DNS User Guide - http://support.eapps.com/hsp/dns
Server Alias Directive from the official Apache documentation - http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.0/mod/core.html#serveralias

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