[Coco] [Color Computer] Fw: Security question in Sub-Domains..

[Neil Morrison]

Maybe this helps?

http://builder.com.com/5100-31_14-6042903.html?tag=nl.e416

Rewriting URLs to host multiple domains on a single IP address with Apache

by  Contributor Mellonfire

If you're like most small Web site owners, you probably operate your Web 
site through a "shared" hosting account with a Web presence provider. 
Typically, this shared account gives you a unique IP address, a limited 
amount of disk space and bandwidth on the provider's server, and access to 
basic commands. Such accounts typically do not include super-user access to 
the system, nor do they allow you to install your own server programs.
Until recently, I operated under a common misconception in this regard: 
every time I purchased a new domain and set up a new Web site, I also 
purchased a new shared account from my Web hosting provider. Needless to 
say, this turned out to be an expensive proposition in annual subscription 
fees. It also wasn't optimal, because the disk space and bandwidth allowed 
to each account was almost never fully utilized.
In an effort to control my spiraling costs, I decided to do a little 
research to see if there wasn't a more efficient way of achieving my goals. 
And I found out something quite interesting: it's not absolutely necessary 
to purchase a separate hosting account and IP address for each of your 
domains. Instead, you can use one of Apache's less well-known features to 
host multiple domains on a single IP address, significantly reducing your 
expenditure on hosting fees. Keep reading, and I'll tell you how.

Step 1: Make sure your host uses the Apache Web server

Most Web hosting providers like the Apache Web Server, because it's stable, 
powerful and easy to configure. It's extremely likely that if your provider 
runs *NIX, your Web site is being served up by Apache. Check this with a 
quick email or call to your host's support department.
Two specific Apache features are required for the following steps:
The URL rewriting engine, which allows you to automatically reprocess URL 
requests according to pre-defined rulesets. This engine, mod_rewrite, is 
usually activated at compile-time, although it is also possible to activate 
it at run-time as a DSO module.
Per-directory .htaccess files, which allow you to override Apache's default 
configuration on a per-directory basis, through the use of special .htaccess 
files.
Check with your host's support department if these features are available. 
The following steps require both features to be active.

Step 2: Create a directory for each domain

In your primary account's public_html/ directory, create the following 
sub-directory structure:
vhosts/site1
      /site2
Where site1, site2, site3 represent the various domains you wish to host. 
Populate each of these directories with the Web files for the corresponding 
domain.

Step 3: Apply rewriting rules

Once the directories are configured, create a file named .htaccess in the 
main public_html/ directory, and place the following line in it:
RewriteEngine On
This activates Apache's URL rewriting engine. Follow this line with rulesets 
like the one below:
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST}  site1.com$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/vhosts/site1/.*$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$  /vhosts/site1/$1 [L]

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST}  site2.com$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/vhosts/site2/.*$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$  /vhosts/site2/$1 [L]
The idea behind this is both simple and elegant. Whenever Apache encounters 
a request for www.site1.com, it automatically rewrites the URL and serves 
the contents of the directory /vhosts/site1. Requests for www.site2.com are 
similarly remapped to the directory /vhosts/site2, and so on. Since the 
rewriting takes place at the server end, most users will not even know this 
is happening.

Step 4: Purchase domain pointers from your Web host for the additional 
domains

The final step is to ask your Web host to publish the names of your various 
domains in its DNS zone files. This "domain pointer" is essentially a DNS 
entry that connects your various domains to your primary account's IP 
address; it can be purchased from most Web hosts for a nominal one-time fee.
After this is done, whenever a client requests one of your domains, the name 
server will respond with the IP address of your primary account. When the 
client attempts to contact that IP address, Apache will examine the domain 
name being requested and, based on the rewriting rules defined in the 
previous step, serve up the appropriate page from the domain directory.
If you have a number of small, medium-traffic Web sites, the above technique 
is a simple and efficient way to host them without excessive unnecessary 
expenditure. Try it for yourself and see!

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "George Ramsower" <Yahoo at DVDPlayersOnly.com>

> Jim,
>
> I wouldn't have any way to use it right now, until I find another computer 
> to install it on. Right now, I have two boxes that I use for XP and the 
> second one is a backup for this one. The drives aren't partitioned for 
> multiple OSs and I'm not going to mess with reformatting and partitioning 
> either of these two machines, as I use them heavily in my eCommerce stuff.
>
> If I had a third box... well, that would be different.
...