RE: [cobalt-users] looking at a site before domain is transferred

["WebSite Creations" <main@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>>>> What address can i type in to a browser to view a web site before
>>>the domain  name is transferred to our name servers.  I can't type in the
ip,
>>>cause we  have about 40 sites on the same...I've been flipping through
the
>>>manual to  no avail.

Hi,

I"ve done this on our RaQ4 servers.  Below are the notes I made to myself.
If you follow
them, you will be able to view a site before the domain propagates.  Works
for name based
and IP based sites.  Of course, with an IP based site, you don't need this.

I've used this on a RaQ4, but it should also work on a RaQ3.  If you use a
RaQ2, or RaQ1,
then I can't be of help here.

Oh, and in case you haven't heard, any changes such as these may void your
Cobalt
warranty.

Have Fun
Bill Micke

---  INSTRUCTIONS ------

RAQ4 Shared IP?   Name based sites can be visible on the web without using a
dedicated IP.
A situation where you might need this is if you don't use dedicated IPs, and
your
customer needs to view the files they upload, but their domain name has not
yet
transferred.

Here is what you do on each server to enable this.

1.  Root to server in question
2.  Back up the httpd.conf file   -->cp /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf.backup
3.  Now, open the httpd.conf file -->vi /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf

You should choose one domain you're going to alias off of.   Typically, this
is the MAIN
domain on this particular server. In theory, you can use any domain you
choose.

While viewing httpd.conf, you can go directly to the domain you want to
alias off of
without scolling by typing in;

  /nameofdomain.com

whereas, 'nameofdomain.com' is the domain name you are going to alias
off of

This should take you to the file for this domain

----- Looks Like This ------
NameVirtualHost 64.65.45.206
<VirtualHost 64.65.45.206>
ServerName www.mainsite.com
ServerAdmin admin
DocumentRoot /home/sites/site2/web
RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST}                !^64.65.45.206(:80)?$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST}                !^www.mainsite.com(:80)?$
RewriteRule ^/(.*)                      http://www.mainsite.com/$1 [L,R]
RewriteOptions inherit
AliasMatch ^/~([^/]+)(/(.*))? /home/sites/site2/users/$1/web/$3
AliasMatch ^/tmp/([^/]+)(/(.*))? /home/sites/$1/web/$3
AddType application/x-httpd-php .php4
AddType application/x-httpd-php .php
# AddHandler chiliasp .asp
# AddHandler chiliasp .asa
AddHandler cgi-wrapper .cgi
AddHandler cgi-wrapper .pl
AddHandler server-parsed .html
AddType    text/html     .html
</VirtualHost>
----- End Looks Like This -----

In the <Virtual Host> file, find the line that looks like;
AliasMatch ^/~([^/]+)(/(.*))? /home/sites/site2/users/$1/web/$3

Now, add the following line directly below it;

AliasMatch ^/tmp/([^/]+)(/(.*))? /home/sites/$1/web/$3

Now, your file should look like so;

----- After Your Addition ------
NameVirtualHost 64.65.45.206
<VirtualHost 64.65.45.206>
ServerName www.mainsite.com
ServerAdmin admin
DocumentRoot /home/sites/site2/web
RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST}                !^64.65.45.206(:80)?$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST}                !^www.mainsite.com(:80)?$
RewriteRule ^/(.*)                      http://www.mainsite.com/$1 [L,R]
RewriteOptions inherit
AliasMatch ^/~([^/]+)(/(.*))? /home/sites/site2/users/$1/web/$3
AliasMatch ^/tmp/([^/]+)(/(.*))? /home/sites/$1/web/$3
AddType application/x-httpd-php .php4
AddType application/x-httpd-php .php
# AddHandler chiliasp .asp
# AddHandler chiliasp .asa
AddHandler cgi-wrapper .cgi
AddHandler cgi-wrapper .pl
AddHandler server-parsed .html
AddType    text/html     .html
</VirtualHost>
----- End After Your Additon -----

Now,  save the file
<esc> : wq <enter>
 and restart the web server.  You should be able to
view any name based site you add to the server  by using

http://www.maindomain.com/tmp/www.somesite.com/nameoffile.html

whereas 'www.somesite.com' is the site you have setup on the server