Fake the default instance with a named instance?

Question

Is there a way with the SQL Server (2008 or newer) to fake a connection to a named instance so that it appears to look like the default instance to applications?

I have an application that has many connection strings hard coded to a default instance, and I would like to run it on a named instance.

Thanks in advance for any help on this.

Answer 1

You can do this using an alias to create a common name for clients that can point to different instances:

Create or Delete a Server Alias for Use by a Client