Virtual Host Templates
Virtual host template can be used to simplify the administration of virtual hosts with similar configuration, especially, for mass hosting environment. Once a template is configured properly, only minimum configuration is required when adding a new virtual host.
Each template contains a template configuration file, a list of mapped listeners and a list of member virtual hosts.

The template configuration file contains all configuration entries for a virtual host, with some fields requiring special values. For example, Virtual Host Root must contain a special variable $VH_NAME in the path. In this way, each member virtual host will have its own root directory based on its name.

To add a template-based virtual host, administrator only needs to add a member to the template member list with a unique virtual host name and a qualified domain name of that virtual host. Lister-to-virtual host mapping will be added automatically for all listeners in the mapped listener list.

Later on, if you need to customize the configuration for a particular virtual host, just "instantiate" that member virtual host, a standalone virtual host configuration will be created automatically. Even when setting up a virtual host with different configuration, it is still convenient to use a template as a starting point, and then customize it after instantiation.
 
Table of Contents
General Name   Template File   Mapped Listeners   
Member Virtual Hosts Name   Domain   Aliases   Virtual Host Root   
 
NameGo to top
Description: A unique name for the template.
Template FileGo to top
Description: Specifies the path to the configuration file of this template.
Syntax: path
Mapped ListenersGo to top
Description: Specifies the names of all listeners that this template maps to. An implicit listener-to-virtual host mapping will be added for all member virtual hosts based on their domain name and aliases.
Syntax: comma-separated list
NameGo to top
Description: A unique name for this virtual host among all template member virtual hosts and standalone virtual hosts. It can be referenced by variable $VH_NAME inside a directory path configuration.
If a standalone virtual host with the same name is also configured, then the member virtual host configuration will be ignored.
DomainGo to top
Description: Specifies a main domain name for this member virtual host. If left blank, virtual host name will be used. This should be a fully qualified domain name, but you can use IP address as well. It is recommended to append : for web site not on standard port 80. It can be referenced by variable $VH_DOMAIN for configuration contains domain names.
It will be used in the following situation:
  1. To match the host name in the "Host" header when processing a request.
  2. To populate domain name configurations for add-ons like frontpage or awstats.
Syntax: domain name
AliasesGo to top
Description: Specifies the alternate names for the virtual host. All possible hostname and IP address should be added to the list. Wildcard character * and ? are allowed in the name. It is recommended to append : for web site not on standard port 80.
It will be used in the following situations:
  1. To match the host name in the "Host" header when processing a request.
  2. To populate domain name/alias configurations configurations for add-ons like frontpage or awstats.
Syntax: comma-separated list of domain name
Virtual Host RootGo to top
Description: Specifies the root directory of this virtual host. Variable $VH_NAME must appear in the path. If left blank, the virtual host root path in the template configuration will be used instead.
Syntax: path