Accessing web site by its ip address

Discussion in 'General' started by dimas, Sep 2, 2007.

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  1. dimas

    dimas Member

    Please kindly help with this matter. Is it possible to access a web site in browser by its ip address if I have several web sites at this ip address?

    For example, I have several web sites at this ip 85.249.237.55: domain1.com, domain2.com, domain3.com etc

    If I just type http://85.249.237.55 ispconfig of course displays a shared ip message

    Can I access, say, domain1.com without actually typing http://domain1.com?

    I need this for two following reasons.
    1) sometimes a client wants to set up and actually see his site before a new dns entry fully propagates
    2) say there's a working site somethere http://www.somesite.com, and its owner asks our web studio to redesign this site, and once it's finished, change the dns records of somesite.com to point to our server. obviously the easiest way is to set up somesite.com at our ispconfig server at once (so we won't have to move this site later), do the redesign work and when it's over just ask the client to change the dns records. but of course during this period the client would want to see how the work is progressing and so this site must somehow be accessible.

    Looking forward to your replies!
     
  2. till

    till Super Moderator Staff Member ISPConfig Developer

    You can not access a name based vhost by its IP address.

    But you can add a line to the hosts file on your workstation (works with windows / mac / linux) to resolve the domain to the correct IP before the dns records are propagated.

    Another possibility is that you assign a temporary domain to the website that resolves already to your server.
     
  3. dimas

    dimas Member

    Dear Till, thank you for your reply.

    Ok, I could assign a temporary domain to the website that resolves already to my server, but then there's another problem (I'm referring to situation (2) as described in my previous post). Ok the client will see his site being developed at this temporary domain, but when everything's finished I'll need to move the site to this client's account and his domain (that will start pointing at my server once everything is done).

    If the site in question is a simple html site, then it's OK - I'll just copy the contents. But what if it's a complex site based on some CMS (Content Management System), for example, Joomla? With MySQL databases, etc?

    So my question is - is there a way in ispconfig to move a site fully from one domain (in this case, temporary) to another domain? (I understand that 'move sites' tool in ispconfig only moves a site from one client to another).
     
  4. till

    till Super Moderator Staff Member ISPConfig Developer

    You dont have to move a site from one domain to another. Just assign the additional domain as co-domain.
     
  5. dimas

    dimas Member

    Thank you, I think I see what you mean, but I would highly appreciate if you could comment on whether I understood you correctly.

    Say the customer's current site is http://www.customer.com
    (it's a functioning site, and the customer wants it to function until the moment when the redesigned site is fully ready). This site has nothing to do with my server at the moment (it is hosted elsewhere), and the name servers of customer.com domain are not the name servers of my ispconfig server.

    For the sake of clarity I'll repeat that once the redesigned site is ready the customer wants to change hosting from its current location to my ispconfig server, BUT keep the current name servers.

    So - what do I need to do? I guess first I have to create a regular web site http://www.customer.com at my ispconfig server, and make NO dns entries. Then when the redesigned site is ready, I'll just ask the customer to change the 'A' dns entries of customer.com to the value of the shared ip at which the site is set up at my ispconfig server - and everything should be OK.

    So now there's only a question of how to be able to see the site in its development (before it is ready) on my ispconfig server.

    Do I need to ask the customer to create a co-domain, say, test.customer.com - and have it point at the newly created site on my ispconfig server? In order for this to work I guess I must first create this co-domain myself (again, no dns entries).

    So when the site is ready, I move the site from http://test.customer.com to just http://customer.com by moving all files from the "web/test" folder to "web" folder, and have the customer change the 'A' dns entry of customer.com to the value of the shared ip of my ispconfig server.

    Will it work the way I described?
     
  6. till

    till Super Moderator Staff Member ISPConfig Developer

    You have to add a co-domain were you have a existing dns a-record pointing to your server.

    You dont have to do anything or move any files when you are ready because the site is already perfectly prepared. Just tell your customer to point his domain to your server, thats all. No moving of sites, files or any reconfiguration.
     
  7. dimas

    dimas Member

    Thank you!
     
  8. Dylan

    Dylan New Member

    I realise this is an old thread, but I just want to let Dimas know that there really is a way to do exactly what he intended.

    Using the method below, you can install CMS on a folder on your server called example.com . Then build the site via the IP method [see below] and point the domain to your servers later. FANTASTIC!

    See below from: Voodish

    How to view website on a shared IP
    Not all websites require a dedicated IP address, and most simple sites will be using a shared IP, but how do you view a website on a shared IP before it propagates?

    Simply use the ~ACCOUNTUSERNAME method to access their website.

    http://IPADDRESS/~accountusername/
     
  9. illuder

    illuder Member

    hmmm...
    IPADDRESS/~web13/

    didnt work..
     
  10. till

    till Super Moderator Staff Member ISPConfig Developer

  11. illuder

    illuder Member

    lol...i'm using ISPConfig 3....hehe... ooo sorry, and tx for the link, will check it now...
     
  12. DonMRo

    DonMRo New Member

    Its 2021... whats the delay with this basic function....

    cPanel allows users to access their accounts via ip address /~username
    Apache mod_userdir is what allows for it... IDK why ISPconfig doesnt have this much used and required feature... its why i cant stop using cpanel untill this is a default feature of ISP Config... its the only thing stopping me from switching from cpanel... I cant operate a web host and development firm without being able to instantly access all sites on a server by ip+username
     
  13. Taleman

    Taleman Well-Known Member HowtoForge Supporter

    I have operated web hosting and development company for 9 years. Never needed that feature.
     
    Chris_UK likes this.
  14. DonMRo

    DonMRo New Member

    Guess that depends on your company. My particular clients dont point domains until after our development, and they require the ability to view sites with shared server IP until then.... cpanel has this feature without adding sites to vhost files and stuff that requires our devs have higher admin access to server.
     
  15. Th0m

    Th0m ISPConfig Developer Staff Member ISPConfig Developer

    First of all, please don't hijack old posts, but create a new one instead and refer to the old one.

    See https://www.faqforge.com/linux/cont...ess-a-namebased-website-without-a-dns-record/
    And it is also possible to create a automatic aliasdomain through the UI, like webXXX.hostingcompany.com where the site is accessible, but this is not wise when using a CMS like WordPress.

    I am locking this thread, if you have any more questions, create a new one.
     
  16. till

    till Super Moderator Staff Member ISPConfig Developer

    Accessing a website like this makes no sense at all anymore today as it will fail with most CMS systems, ISPConfig 3 has its auto alias feature instead, that @Th0m mentioned already. Besides that, you post here in a thread about software (ISPConfig 2) that does not exist anymore for more than 10 years, and it's successor ISPConfig 3 has a completely different feature set so nothing that's mentioned in this original thread from 2007 applies to it. But do us all a favor and stay with CPanel.
     
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