DNS and Http HOST header issue

Question

I am using SharePoint Server 2007 Enterprise with Windows Server 2008 Enterprise. And I am using publishing portal template. I have a physical server with a single IP address, and I have set in DNS to map two domain names (server1.mycorp.com and server2.mycorp.com) to the same server/IP address.

My question is how to setup two SharePoint web sites on the same server with a single IP address to serve two domain names individually (with the same port number 80)? My current idea is to create two SharePoint web applications for the two web sites, with the same port number 80, but with different host header (setup Http host header to server1.mycorp.com and server2.mycorp.com individually for the two SharePoint web applications). Not sure whether my idea is feasible?

Answer 1

This is a difficult topic to describe in words only. I recommend you take a look at this link which I think does a great job of illustrating how to manage host headers, alt access mappings, and even ssl if applicable.

http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2007/03/06/what-every-sharepoint-administrator-needs-to-know-about-alternate-access-mappings-part-1.aspx

It is important to note though that this is how to set it up for a new application. You may or may not be able to reconfigure your existing application to work this way depending on how it is setup. Chances are it will be easier to bring up the content dbs on a new application.