What is a Virtual Host?
A virtual host or a "vhost" is a form of hosting where more than one service (usually a web site) can be hosted on a single server. In eXtension, all of our web sites and *.extension.org services take this form, and are moved between servers as needs arise.
Most virtual hosts in eXtension that are located at NC State University use IP-based virtual hosting. IP-based virtual hosting uses a dedicated IP address for each virtual host. Each server (physical or vmware-based) that hosts more than one virtual host, uses multiple IP addresses assigned to the ethernet device in the server. The service software (e.g. Apache for the web sites) routes the request to the proper virtual host based on the IP address it received the network service request at.
A virtual host is dependent on the particular service software configuration, and the network address configuration of the operating system (when using IP-based virtual hosts). This characterization provides the flexibility to move the virtual host between different hosting services and operating systems - hence the "virtual" designation.
Virtual hosts are different from " virtual machines" - which are also employed in the eXtension Systems Infrastructure
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