Unable to create URL with wampserver

I am trying to create a URL for a site hosted through wampserver, but no matter what I do I am unable to get the URL to work. The site is online because I am able to connect through the servers IP address, though.

(I should also mention that this site is only available on an intranet)

hosts file:

# 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 localhost
127.0.0.1 www.socialclub.com    #also tried public/private IP, still only works locally

vhosts.conf:

# Virtual Hosts
#
# Required modules: mod_log_config

# If you want to maintain multiple domains/hostnames on your
# machine you can setup VirtualHost containers for them. Most configurations
# use only name-based virtual hosts so the server doesn't need to worry about
# IP addresses. This is indicated by the asterisks in the directives below.
#
# Please see the documentation at 
# <URL:http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/vhosts/>
# for further details before you try to setup virtual hosts.
#
# You may use the command line option '-S' to verify your virtual host
# configuration.

#
# VirtualHost example:
# Almost any Apache directive may go into a VirtualHost container.
# The first VirtualHost section is used for all requests that do not
# match a ServerName or ServerAlias in any <VirtualHost> block.
#

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName localhost
    DocumentRoot "E:\Data\Users Apps\wamp\www\socialclub"
</VirtualHost>


<Directory "E:\Data\Users Apps\wamp\www\socialclub">
    AllowOverride All
    Order Allow,Deny
    Allow from all
    Options Indexes FollowSymLinks Includes ExecCGI
</Directory>
<VirtualHost *:80>
    DocumentRoot "E:\Data\Users Apps\wamp\www\socialclub"
    ServerName www.socialclub.com
</VirtualHost>

Every guide I've looked at says that this should work, but it only works locally. What do I need to do for the URL to work from other computers?

Solution

Ok I think the problem is your are not understanding what the HOSTS file is used for and what its scope is.

The HOSTS file only effects the single PC that it lives on. It is used to seed the windows DNS cache at boot time. So whatever you put in this file will have no effect on any other PC in your intranet.

There are a couple of solutions :

Lets assume your PC running WAMPServer has the ip address 192.168.1.10:

You could go to each PC in your intranet and make this change to the HOSTS file on each PC
```
192.168.1.10 socialclub.com
```
people normally think this is too much hassle especially if they have more than 5-6 PC's to mod
You could install a local DNS Server, or make use of an existing local DNS Server. Then as long as all the PC's in your intranet are using that DNS Server you add the domain name to that DNS Server.

people normally think this is a good idea, but it can be quite complicated to get this right and not loose access to the real DNS servers out there on the web

A couple of changes I would suggest to your httpd-vhost.conf file

First leave localhost pointing to the original wampserver homepage, but only allow access from the PC running WAMPServer. The tools on the homepage can be a very useful for debug/diagnostics/etc, but only allow access to locahost from the PC running WAMPServer.

Second put the <Directory></Directory> block inside the Virtual Host definition. This allows you to make each virtual hosts security specific to that virtual host.

# Should be the first VHOST definition so that it is the default virtual host
# Also access rights should remain restricted to the local PC and the local network
# So that any random ip address attack will recieve an error code and not gain access

<VirtualHost *:80>
    DocumentRoot "c:/wamp/www"
    ServerName localhost
    <Directory  "c:/wamp/www">
        AllowOverride All
        Require local
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost *:80>
    DocumentRoot "E:\Data\Users Apps\wamp\www\socialclub"
    ServerName www.socialclub.com
    <Directory "E:\Data\Users Apps\wamp\www\socialclub">
        AllowOverride All
        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks Includes ExecCGI
        # assuming your subnet equates to this range
        # and you are using Apache 2.4.x
        # its not necessary to allow access from all in an intranet
        # in fact it might be dangerous
        Require ip 192.168.1             

    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>