> [!CAUTION]
> **Caution:** This documentation covers Edge for Private Cloud 4.17.09, which is no longer supported. Google does not provide security patches, bug fixes, or technical support for this version. The current supported version is 4.54.00. See the [Edge for Private Cloud documentation](https://docs.apigee.com/private-cloud/latest/overview) for the current version, or [All versions](https://docs.apigee.com/private-cloud/versions) to compare releases.

*Edge for Private Cloud v. 4.17.09*

A virtual host on Edge defines the domains and Edge Router ports on which an API proxy is
exposed, and, by extension, the URL that apps use to access an API proxy. A virtual host also
defines whether the API proxy is accessed by using the HTTP protocol, or by the encrypted HTTPS
protocol.

As part of the Edge onboarding process, you have to create an organization, environment, and
virtual host. Edge provides the setup-org command to make
this process easier for new users.

When you create the virtual host, you must specify the following information:

- **The name** of the virtual host that you use to reference it in your API proxies.
- **The port** on the Router for the virtual host. Typically these ports start at 9001 and increment by one for every new virtual host.
- **The host alias** of the virtual host. Typically the DNS name of the virtual host.

For example, in a config file passed to the setup-org command, you
can specify this information as:

```
# Specify virtual host information.
VHOST_PORT=9001
VHOST_NAME=default

# If you have a DNS entry for the virtual host.
VHOST_ALIAS=myapis.apigee.net
```

The Edge Router compares the Host header of the
incoming request to the list of available host aliases as part of determining the API proxy that
handles the request. When making a request through a virtual host, either specify a domain name
that matches the host alias of a virtual host, or specify the IP address of the Router and
the Host header containing
the host alias.

For example, if you created a virtual host with a host alias of myapis.apigee.net on port
9001, then a cURL request to an API through that virtual host could use one of the following
forms:

- If you have a DNS entry for **myapis.apigee.net** :  

  curl http://**myapis.apigee.net**:9001/{proxy-base-path}/{resource-path}
- If you do not have a DNS entry for **myapis.apigee.net** :  

  curl http://**\<routerIP\>:9001** /{proxy-base-path}/{resource-path} **-H
  'Host: myapis.apigee.net'**  

  In this form, you specify the IP address of the Router, and pass the host alias in the Host header.   

  **Note** : The cURL command, most browsers, and many other utilities automatically append the Host header with the domain as part of the request, so you can actually use a cURL command in the form:  

  curl http://\<routerIP\>:9001/{proxy-base-path}/{resource-path}

## Options when you do not have a DNS
entry for the virtual host

One option when you do not have a DNS entry is to set the host alias to the IP address of the
Router and port of the virtual host, as \<routerIP\>:port. For
example:

```
VHOST_ALIAS=192.168.1.31:9001
```

Then you make a curl command in the form below:

```
curl http://<routerIP>:9001/{proxy-base-path}/{resource-path} 
```

This option is preferred because it works well with the Edge UI.

If you have multiple Routers, add a host alias for each Router, specifying the IP address of
each Router and port of the virtual host:

```
# Specify the IP and port of each router as a space-separated list enclosed in quotes:
# VHOST_ALIAS="192.168.1.31:9001 192.168.1.32:9001"
```

Alternatively, you can set the host alias to a value, such
as **temp.hostalias.com** . Then, you have to pass the Host header on every
request:

```
curl -v http://<routerIP>:9001/{proxy-base-path}/{resource-path}  -H 'host: temp.hostalias.com'
```

Or, add the host alias to your /etc/hosts file. For example, add this line
to /etc/hosts:

```
192.168.1.31   temp.hostalias.com
```

Then you can make a request as if you had a DNS entry:

```
curl -v http://myapis.apigee.net:9001/{proxy-base-path}/{resource-path}
```