CNAME or A Record to Site under www root?

Question

So I have a server that runs a webapp and I have recently installed our BMC Track-IT! help desk software on it. I also installed Track-IT! Web which is client facing allowing users to browse their tickets or create new ones on a web interface. I am trying to figure out how to direct a CNAME or A Record in our DNS called [http: //HelpDesk] (without the space obviously) to the server's IP address or FQDN. The problem I am running in to is that the CNAME and A Record both point just to the server which finds IIS and sees the default website. The Track-IT! Web site is nested under that.

Example: /HelpDesk resolves to /localhost but the site I need it to route to is /localhost/sharename

How do I point the DNS entry to the localhost/sharename instead of just the server's FQDN or IP?

Thanks all.

Answer 1

DNS has nothing to do with this. You need to edit the IIS site in question to accept requests for that host header.

Using IIS Manager, open up the Sites node and choose the site you want the host header to work on. In the Actions pane, click Bindings. Then choose the binding you want to add a host header to and click Add.

Type in a host header, for example HelpDesk. And you're done. Now the CNAME / A record that points to your IIS server will be sent to the proper web application.

Answer 2

Ideally run your new HelpDesk application in its own web site, independent of the existing default site. Then just use the host header binding to match your cname.

If you have to run it under the existing site, you have to trick a bit. You can not point a cname or any DNS entry directly to a subdirectory of a website.

Create a second site with the host header of your cname, then install the IIS Rewrite module and create a rule to rewrite all requests to that site to the subdirectory of your other site.