Apache and mod_rewrite: Redirect domain to subdirectory

Question

(I know this is not a programming question per se, but it involves regular expressions, so at least it is borderline... )

The setup:

Apache 2.0 with mod_rewrite on Windows. Two domains, let's call them domain1.example and domain2.example. I would like to host both domains on the same server ("server1"), so I point them to the same IP address.

Now, if the user types "domain2.example" into his browser, I want him to end up in a subdirectory** on the server, but leave the domain he typed intact ("domain2.example/domain2/"). The redirection must leave all absolute and relative links on pages under this domain/directory intact, of course.

Is this possible with mod_rewrite (or Apache virtual hosts or other method), and how do I do it?

** The "subdirectory" in this case is not actually a file folder on disk, but a virtual folder made with the Apache "Location" directive.

Thanks.

Answer 1

I'm assuming you don't have access to the Apache configuration, otherwise, yes, virtual hosts are your best option. If you don't, however, this can be put in a .htaccess file and should do the trick:

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(.+)\.yourwebsite\.com$
RewriteRule ^/(.*)$ /path/to/your/subdomains/%1/$1 [L]

So a request to http://foo.yourwebsite.com/bar would go to /path/to/your/subdomains/foo/bar

Answer 2

Assuming that the domains are independend the advised solution is virtual hosts.

You can find the documentation at the apache website.