A subdomain is configured by virtual host entries in httpd.conf.

Here is an example of what the file should look like:

Listen 80

NameVirtualHost *

<VirtualHost *>

ServerName www.domain.com

DocumentRoot /home/httpd/htdocs/

</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost *>

ServerName subdomain.domain.com

DocumentRoot /home/httpd/htdocs/subdomain/

</VirtualHost>

To create a username and password you will need to create or edit your .htaccess file.

You need at least four lines in .htaccess to set up password protection:

AuthName "Realm name"

AuthType Basic

AuthUserFile /BASEDIR/.htpasswd

require valid-user

/BASEDIR/ is the path to your root directory.

AuthName: Realm name a piece of text that appears on the dialogue box asking for the password. See what it does in practice and then you can decide what text you would like here.

AuthType: Only Basic is possible at present.

AuthUserFile: The existence of the AuthUserFile line suggests that you can call the .htpasswd file something else. That is true, but is best to call it .htpasswd, so that nobody can view its contents.

require: This says that any user validated by password is allowed.

As well as these entries in the .htaccess file, you will need to set up a .htpasswd file

The format of this file is simple. It consists of a series of usernames and passwords. Each line holds one username and the single password associated with it, separated by a colon. Here is an example:

frances:WrU808BHQai36

john:iABCQFQs40E8M

lisa:FAdHN3W753sSU

You may think these passwords are rather unrealistic and difficult to remember - the reason for this is that they are encrypted for security. The .htpasswd file does not hold the actual passwords in clear text - it holds them in a coded form. If you are running Apache (at least on Unix) there is a command called htpasswd which will translate clear text passwords into this encrypted form. What many webmasters do is use an on-line tool to do this translation.