Accessing name-based virtual hosts from the internet

Question

I'm currently beginning to learn Apache. So I'm really a beginner here. I've been able to set up a basic site and virtual hosts that I can access within my own network.

Forgive me if my question sounds stupid but is it possible to access my virtual hosts via name-based virtual hosting using only my external IP? Or would I have to have an actual registered domain name for my virtual hosts that will be mapped by DNS to my external IP?

I might have answered my own question here. But I dunno. I'm a total noob here.

Thanks!

Answer 1

You can serve multiple domain-names off of a single IP, though IMO it is always best practice to have separate IP's for each domain/subdomain you want to use, as over time you might need to move domains around across different servers. In these cases you can (if your hosting set up allows) move the IP address along with the site you are migrating without having to update DNS.

Answer 2

While it's not a good permanent solution, PageKite is a neat service that could help you out