https://sp.site.com/bu/dept -> https://dept.site.com

Question

I have a web application with a root site collection:

https://sp.site.com

I have further host named site collections like this:

https://sp.site.com/bu/dept1
https://sp.site.com/bu/dept2
https://sp.site.com/bu/dept3

Note: "bu" is just a host header managed path.

Then I have sites under these site collections like so:

https://sp.site.com/bu/dept1/site1
https://sp.site.com/bu/dept1/site2
https://sp.site.com/bu/dept2/site1
https://sp.site.com/bu/dept3/site1

Is it possible to add/change a site's URL from https://sp.site.com/bu/dept1/site1 to https://site1.site.com?

If not, is it possible to add/change a site collection's URL from https://sp.site.com/bu/dept1 to https://dept1.site.com?

I have tried to use Set-SPSiteUrl to add a URL for a site collection but I get an error message saying this can only be applied to the root site collection at https://sp.site.com.

Any other methods within or outside of SharePoint?

Answer 1

Yesm You can only change the url of the root site collection of HNSC. Here is what technet is describing;

The Set-SPSiteUrl cmdlet only applies to the root site collection for a host name that is, http://www.contoso.com. This cmdlet cannot be directly run against a managed path site collection underneath the root that is, http://www.contoso.com/sites/test.

But if you want to change it, then I am thinking of backup and restore option. Create new HSNC site collection using the new url, then take the backup of existing and restore it on newly created.