SharePoint: Site Alias … Alternative Site Mapping

Creating A Friendlier URL For Your SharePoint Sites

Just created a SharePoint Services 3.0 site http://servername:20595 and want users to access it with a friendlier URL http://mysite; you need to use SharePoint’s Alternative Access Mapping & a DNS Alias(CNAME) record.

Alternative Access Mapping

1. Start, Administrative Tools
2. SharePoint 3.0 Central Administration
3. Select Operations Tab 
4. Global Configuration Section, Alternate Access Mappings 
5. Open drop down next to Alternate Access Mapping Collection: top right
6. Select the URL you wish to change
   in this example http://servername:20595 
7. Select Add Internal URLs 
8. Add Internal URL
   Enter friendlier name into the URL protocol, host and port box. The this example http://mysite.
9. Change the Zone to Extranet
   Leaving the zone as Default entering http://mysite with return the required page, but the browser will display the original http://servername:20595 
10. Select Save.

Adding DNS Record for Friendlier URL

1. Start, Administrative Tools
2. Open DNS
3. Browse to correct DNS Server & Forward lookup Zone
4. Right Click and Create New Alias(CNAME)
5. For Alias Name enter friendlier name without http://
   example: mysite not http://mysite
6. FQDN for targeted host enter your server’s FQDN or browse to its Host(A) record.
   example: server.mydomain.local

Further Information: