Let us take a closer look at the a2ensite and its role in apache with the support of Server management support services at Bobcares.

What is a2ensite in Apache?

a2ensite is a script that configures apache2 to enable the provided site (which contains a block). It accomplishes this by generating symlinks in /etc/apache2/sites-enabled.

Every request that does not match any actual directive is forwarded to the first virtual host enabled by Apache. As a result, call it 000-default in order to sort before the loading of other hosts.

Options for a2ensite in Apache

-q, --quiet: Display no informative messages.

-m, --maintmode Enables the maintainer mode, which means that the application will automatically invoke by a maintenance script. End users should not use this switch.

-p, --purge Purge all traces of the module in the internal state database upon disabling it.

Enable a virtual host

To enable a Virtual host with a2ensite in Apache, enter the following code:

$ sudo a2ensite [virtual_host]

To hide the informative message type in the following situations:

$ sudo a2ensite --quiet [virtual_host]

Synopsis

a2ensite [site]
a2dissite [site]

where ‘[site]’ is the name of the Virtual Host configuration file for the site, which can be found at ‘/etc/apache2/sites-available/’, sans the ‘.conf’ extension. For example, if the Virtual Host configuration file for the site is  ‘example.com.conf,’ then the instruction would be ‘/site’.

a2ensite example.com

Description of a2ensite and a2dissite commands in Apache

a2ensite is a script that configures apache2 to enable the provided site (which contains a block). It accomplishes this by generating symlinks in /etc/apache2/sites-enabled.

Similarly, a2dissite deactivates a site by removing such symbolic connections. It is not an error to enable a site already in the stage of activation or to disable a site already kept in disable stage. It treats the default site differently: the resulting symlink is named 000-default in order to load first. Let us go though a short example on a2ensite apache

Example

a2dissite default

This command line will Disable the default site.

Files

/etc/apache2/sites-available

/etc/apache2/sites-enabled is a directory containing files containing information about available sites.

For enabled sites, a directory with links to the files in sites-available. This step concludes how to use the a2ensite on apache.

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Conclusion

To conclude we have now gone through a short note on the a2ensite apache script with the assistance of our Server management support Services.