Take the 2-minute tour ×

I have the grasp of setting up multiple name-based domains on Apache 2 using virtual hosts. Say I have a domain name called 'domain.com'. I now want to set up a sub domain of this, like 'demo.domain.com' and want this to go to a different folder on Apache to serve up a different website.

How would I set this up exactly? Do I need to set up a CNAME and then a virtual host in Apache? Or do I just setup a ServerAlias in Apache? I'm a little confused.

I'm using Slicehost for my hosting and DNS, if that helps. Using Ubuntu Hardy with Apache 2.

share|improve this question

1 Answer 1

up vote 3 down vote accepted

The DNS and the server configuration are two different things. For the DNS you will either need a CNAME or an A record for your new subdomain so that it will resolve to the correct IP. The difference is that CNAMEs resolve to other hostnames while A records resolve to IPs. For example:

subdomain.example.com CNAME -> example.com

subdomain.example.com A ->

Once the DNS is configured correctly you will then need to configure an Apache virtual host for the new subdomain. Check the documentation here:


share|improve this answer
Thank you. I wasn't too clear on the differences between CNAME and A records. Also, I still thought it wasn't working, but all I had to do was wait for it to propagate. Have a good day Dave. –  littlejim84 Jan 16 '10 at 12:27

Your Answer


