error when connecting to my newly installed server?</a></li>
<li><a href="#vhosts">Why can't I use SSL with name-based/non-IP-based
virtual hosts?</a></li>
-<li><a href="#vhosts2">Why is it not possible to use Name-Based Virtual
+<li><a href="#vhosts2">Is it possible to use Name-Based Virtual
Hosting to identify different SSL virtual hosts?</a></li>
<li><a href="#comp">How do I get SSL compression working?</a></li>
<li><a href="#lockicon">When I use Basic Authentication over HTTPS
complete the SSL handshake phase. Bingo!</p>
-<h3><a name="vhosts2" id="vhosts2">Why is it not possible to use Name-Based
+<h3><a name="vhosts2" id="vhosts2">Is it possible to use Name-Based
Virtual Hosting to identify different SSL virtual hosts?</a></h3>
<p>Name-Based Virtual Hosting is a very popular method of identifying
different virtual hosts. It allows you to use the same IP address and
SSL, it seems natural to assume that the same method can be used to have
lots of different SSL virtual hosts on the same server.</p>
- <p>It comes as rather a shock to learn that it is impossible.</p>
+ <p>It is possible, but only if using a 2.2.12 or later web server,
+ built with 0.9.8j or later OpenSSL. This is because it requires a
+ feature that only the most recent revisions of the SSL
+ specification added, called Server Name Indication (SNI).</p>
<p>The reason is that the SSL protocol is a separate layer which
encapsulates the HTTP protocol. So the SSL session is a separate
transaction, that takes place before the HTTP session has begun.
The server receives an SSL request on IP address X and port Y
- (usually 443). Since the SSL request does not contain any Host:
- field, the server has no way to decide which SSL virtual host to use.
- Usually, it will just use the first one it finds, which matches the
- port and IP address specified.</p>
+ (usually 443). Since the SSL request did not contain any Host:
+ field, the server had no way to decide which SSL virtual host to use.
+ Usually, it just used the first one it found which matched the
+ port and IP address specified.</p>
+
+ <p>If you are using a version of the web server and OpenSSL that
+ support SNI, though, and the client's browser also supports SNI,
+ then the hostname is included in the original SSL request, and the
+ web server can select the correct SSL virtual host.</p>
<p>You can, of course, use Name-Based Virtual Hosting to identify many
non-SSL virtual hosts (all on port 80, for example) and then