<
networking> Most computers on the
Internet have a single
IP address; however, often via special
kernel
patches, a given computer can be made to respond to several
IP addresses and provide different
services (typically
different
Web services) on each. Each of these different IP
addresess (which generally each have their own
hostname) act
as if they were distinct hosts on distinct machines, even
though they are actually all one
host. Hence, they are
virtual hosts. A common use is when an {Internet Service
Provider} "hosts"
World-Wide Web or other services for
several of their customers on one computer but giving the
appearence that they are separate servers.
(1997-09-11)