Set Up: Mac OS X Client OS, one network card, and multiple Virtual Hosts (three of the Virtual Hosts need SSL certificates) using Apache.
Problem: I have been using Virtual Hosts with Apache for a few years and until now, I have only had one web site that has needed a SSL certificate. After rethinking site security, I decided at least two additional web sites needed SSL certificates so no passwords were sent as clear text while using http basic authentication. However, my current Virtual Host setup only supports one SSL certificate…and I need to use three.
Basic Apache background:
When configuring multiple Virtual Hosts in Apache, you can use IP-based Virtual Hosts, or name-based Virtual Hosts. (When using IP-based Virtual Hosts, the server uses an IP address for each Virtual Host. When using name-based Virtual Hosts, all sites use the same IP address and the client’s browser sends the name of the site with each request. Apache then uses the name to determine which host should serve the request.) The problem with using name-based Virtual Hosts is that the host name is contained in the data stream (which is encrypted by SSL). In … [more]
