Apache 2.4 ignore httpd-vhosts.conf file

Question

I have been following this steps setup apache virtualhost (windows) to create a Virtual Host in Windows but I don't know what is wrong because it doesn't work.

I want a virtual host with this url: http://local.shop.

httpd-vhosts.conf

<VirtualHost *:80>    
DocumentRoot "C:/Apache24/htdocs/"
ServerName localhost
ServerAlias localhost
<Directory "C:/Apache24/htdocs/">
    AllowOverride All
</Directory>

<VirtualHost *:80>    
    DocumentRoot "C:/Apache24/htdocs/shop/"
    ServerName local.shop
    ServerAlias local.shop
    <Directory "C:/Apache24/htdocs/shop/">
        AllowOverride All
    </Directory>
    ErrorLog "logs/localhost.html-error.log"
    CustomLog "logs/localhost.html-access.log" common
</VirtualHost>

hosts

    127.0.0.1   localhost
    127.0.0.1   local.shop

If I try to access to http://localhost the page served is the page which is on C:/Apache24/htdocs/shop/ but if I try to access to http://local.shop I've got the next error ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED

What am I doing wrong?

Edit 1:

I have removed ServerAlias directives and now If I try to access to http://localhost the page served is the right page, but if I try to acces to http://local.shop still doesn't work. I've got the same error ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED

Edit 2: I have used "ping" command from windows to try to reach to each host. And I get a response from localhost but not from local.shop

Edit 3: I have made a change in my definition of localhost in httpd-vhosts.conf. I have changed DocumentRoot to "C:/Apache24/htdocs/shop"

<VirtualHost *:80>    
    DocumentRoot "C:/Apache24/htdocs/shop"
    ServerName localhost
    ServerAlias localhost
    <Directory "C:/Apache24/htdocs/">
       AllowOverride All
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Instead of getting the default page from shop directory, I still getting the default page from original localhost. It seems like Apache ignore httpd-vhosts.conf file.

Not the issue, but please remove those `ServerAlias` directives, they don't make any sense that way. — arkascha, Mar 07 '17 at 18:55
And entries in your http servers error log files when you restart the http server? — arkascha, Mar 07 '17 at 19:01
What does a command line resolution attempt for the host name `local.shop` produce? — arkascha, Mar 07 '17 at 19:02
To resolve local.shop. I think that you refer to make a ping ... If I make a ping to localhost is found it but If I make a ping to local.shop the response is that "ping has not found local.shop". — José Carlos, Mar 07 '17 at 19:05
Not sure what command is available in an MS-Windows environment for that, these systems do not implement networking as an integral part of the operating system, but you could try if some command like `nslookup` or `host` or `dig` is installed and use that on command line. — arkascha, Mar 07 '17 at 19:07
I have used "ping" command. And localhost is found it but local.shop is not found it. — José Carlos, Mar 07 '17 at 19:11

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 08 '17 at 01:04

Apache maybe listening (in case you restarted it after editing vhosts file), but nothing points to it. You need to edit your hosts file (located under C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts) and point domain "local.shop" to IP address 127.0.0.1 so Apache can pickup from there. You may edit that file with Notepad, opened with admin rights.

It should looks something like this:

# Copyright (c) 1993-2009 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
#      102.54.94.97     rhino.acme.com          # source server
#       38.25.63.10     x.acme.com              # x client host

# localhost name resolution is handled within DNS itself.
#   127.0.0.1       localhost
#   ::1             localhost
127.0.0.1   local.shop

Thanks for your comment but I still hace the domain local.shop in my Windows hosts file. — José Carlos, Mar 08 '17 at 01:08
Still error is not on Apache side, since actual error is "ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED" (ie. "I have no idea on which server is this domain). — Nemanja K., Mar 08 '17 at 01:12

score 0 · Answer 2 · edited Nov 03 '21 at 03:44

I encountered this same issue installing Apache 2.4 on Nov. Tuesday 2nd, 2021 at 2:37 pm.

Things you need to do if you are installing Apache without WAMP or LAMP:

If you do not want to do much configurations, unzip your downloaded files on c:\Apache 2.4 as many tutorials asked you to do.
If you want to use httpd command variable you need to add c:\Apache 2.4\bin into your Environment Variables path.
THIS IS WHAT MOST PEOPLE FAILED TO ADDRESS :: If you are going to create Virtual Hosts you need to open c:\Apache 2.4\bin\conf\httpd.conf in your favorite text editor or IDE and look for the line or statement #Include conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.com and uncomment it, which means removing the # (pound) sign at the beginning. At the time of this writing is line 510. It should look as follow:

509 #Virtual hosts
510 Include conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf

You need to open you text editor as admin and edit c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts file and add all your virtual hosts as so, you get the idea:

127.0.0.1    vhOne.com #your virtual host server name
127.0.0.1    vhTwo.com #your second virutal host server name

After doing that close any terminal and open that again, and you should be able to go to your terminal, without having to cd to the Apache directory all the time, just by typing:

> httpd -k install
> httpd -v
> httpd -k restart

You should also be able to ping your virtual host from the terminal and expect the response desired:

ping vhOne.com

And you should be able to visit your virtual host URL. Keep in mind that at first most browsers won't recognized 127.0.0.1 URL to be web addresses but search string so you have to type http://vhOne.com with the http:// in the URL. After that first visit you can go back by typing the server name without the http://

Apache 2.4 ignore httpd-vhosts.conf file

2 Answers2