Creating Alternate Portal Access Settings

Alternate access settings provide a mechanism for server farm administrators to identify the different ways that portal sites are accessed, ensuring that URLs are displayed appropriately for the access method. For more information, see About Alternate Portal Access Settings.

The following character limitations apply:

• Mapping name   The mapping name has a maximum length of 64 Unicode characters and must not be null.
• The following character limitations apply for the default, intranet, extranet, and custom URLs:
  • Each URL has a maximum length of 255 Unicode characters and a minimum length of 5 characters.
  • The user can enter the URL in any combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, but the URL is always saved in lowercase.
  • Each URL must be different from all other URLs.

The URL can include the protocol (for example, http, https, ftp), server name, and port number portion only. For example, http://server_name.domain.com or http://server_name:port_number. Do not include the portal site name, such as http://server_name.domain.com/portal_site_name.

Create an alternate portal access setting

1. On the SharePoint Portal Server Central Administration for server_name page, in the Portal Site and Virtual Server Configuration section, click Configure alternate portal site URLs for intranet, extranet, and custom access.
2. On the Configure Alternate Portal Access Settings page, click New Access Setting.
3. On the Add Alternative Access Setting page, in the Mapping name box, type the mapping name to use for alternate access to the server identified by the default URL.
4. In the Default URL box, type the default URL.

   Search services will use the default URL when crawling content, and search results will display the default URL when no other access mapping is available.

   The default URL cannot be blank.

5. In the Intranet URL box, type the intranet URL. The intranet URL is optional.
6. In the Extranet URL box, type the extranet URL. The extranet URL is optional.
7. In the Custom URL box, type the custom URL. The custom URL is optional and can be an intranet or an extranet address.
8. Click OK.