Ubuntu Server Virtual Host Tutorial for Dev

Welcome Dev, are you looking for a way to host your website or application on your own server? Ubuntu server virtual host is a great solution for you. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process of setting up virtual hosts on an Ubuntu server. This tutorial assumes that you already have an Ubuntu server up and running. Let’s get started!

What is a Virtual Host?

Before we dive into the setup process, let’s first understand what a virtual host is. A virtual host is a method of hosting multiple domain names on a single server. Each domain name can have its own website, email accounts, and other services without interfering with other domain names on the same server. This is achieved by configuring the web server (in our case, Apache) to respond differently to different domain names.

Why use Virtual Hosts?

There are several reasons why you might want to use virtual hosts:

Step 1: Install Apache

The first step in setting up virtual hosts on your Ubuntu server is to install the Apache web server. Apache is a popular and reliable web server that can host multiple domain names using virtual hosts.

You can install Apache using the following command:

sudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install apache2

FAQ:

Q: Can I use a different web server?

A: Yes, you can use a different web server if you prefer. However, this tutorial will focus on using Apache.

Step 2: Create a Directory for Your Website

Now that Apache is installed, we need to create a directory where your website files will be stored. You can create this directory anywhere you like, but we recommend using the default location for Apache’s website files. This location is /var/www/html/.

You can create the directory using the following command:

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/mywebsite.com/html

Replace “mywebsite.com” with the name of your domain name.

FAQ:

Q: Why do we need to create a directory?

A: The directory is where your website files will be stored. Apache needs to know where these files are located so that it can serve them to visitors to your website.

Step 3: Set Permissions on the Directory

By default, the /var/www/html/ directory is owned by the root user. This means that normal users, like the user you will use to upload files to your website, do not have permission to write to this directory.

We need to change the ownership of this directory to the user that will be uploading files to your website. In this example, we will assume that you are using the user “dev”.

You can change the ownership of the directory using the following command:

sudo chown -R dev:dev /var/www/mywebsite.com/html

Replace “mywebsite.com” with the name of your domain name.

FAQ:

Q: Why do we need to change the ownership of the directory?

A: The ownership of the directory determines who has permission to write to the directory. By changing the ownership to the user that will be uploading files to your website, you give that user permission to write to the directory.

Step 4: Create a Virtual Host File

Now that we have a directory for our website, we need to create a virtual host file. This file tells Apache how to handle requests for your domain name.

You can create a virtual host file using the following command:

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

Replace “mywebsite.com” with the name of your domain name.

FAQ:

Q: What is a virtual host file?

A: A virtual host file is a configuration file for Apache that tells it how to handle requests for a specific domain name.

Step 5: Configure the Virtual Host File

Now that we have created the virtual host file, we need to configure it. The virtual host file should look something like this:

ServerAdmin admin@mywebsite.comServerName mywebsite.comServerAlias www.mywebsite.comDocumentRoot /var/www/mywebsite.com/htmlErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.logCustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined

Make sure to replace “mywebsite.com” with the name of your domain name.

FAQ:

Q: What is the ServerAdmin directive?

A: The ServerAdmin directive is used to set the email address of the server administrator. This email address is used to send notifications to the server administrator in case of problems.

Step 6: Enable the Virtual Host

Now that we have created and configured the virtual host file, we need to enable it. You can do this using the following command:

sudo a2ensite mywebsite.com

Replace “mywebsite.com” with the name of your domain name.

FAQ:

Q: What does the a2ensite command do?

A: The a2ensite command is used to enable a virtual host. This command creates a symbolic link from the sites-available directory to the sites-enabled directory.

Step 7: Test the Virtual Host

Now that we have enabled the virtual host, we need to test it to make sure it is working correctly. You can test the virtual host using the following command:

sudo apache2ctl configtest

If there are no errors, you can restart Apache using the following command:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

You should now be able to visit your website using a web browser. If you have not yet set up DNS for your domain name, you can do so by adding an entry to your hosts file.

FAQ:

Q: What is the hosts file?

A: The hosts file is a local file on your computer that is used to map domain names to IP addresses. By adding an entry to the hosts file, you can test your website using your domain name before DNS is set up.

Conclusion

Congratulations, Dev! You have successfully set up virtual hosts on your Ubuntu server. You can now host multiple domain names on a single server, reducing your hosting costs and making it easier to scale your website as your needs grow.