---
title: Virtual hosts
description: Virtual hosts enable PingAccess to protect multiple application domains and hosts.
component: pingaccess
version: 8.1
page_id: pingaccess:pingaccess_user_interface_reference_guide:pa_virtual_hosts
canonical_url: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingaccess/9.1/pingaccess_user_interface_reference_guide/pa_virtual_hosts.html
llms_txt: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingaccess/llms.txt
docs_for_agents: https://developer.pingidentity.com/build-with-ai/docs-for-agents.md
revdate: February 6, 2023
superseded_by: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingaccess/9.1/pingaccess_user_interface_reference_guide/pa_virtual_hosts.html
---

# Virtual hosts

Virtual hosts enable PingAccess to protect multiple application domains and hosts.

A virtual host is defined by the host name and host port.

A wildcard (`*`) can be used either to define either any host, such as `*:443`, or any host within a domain, such as `*.example.com`. If a request matches more than one virtual host, the most specific match is used.

|   |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| - | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
|   | Prior to availability of server name indication (SNI) in Java 8, an HTTPS port could only present a single certificate. To handle multiple virtual hosts, you must use a wildcard name certificate or the [Subject Alternative Name](https://www.openssl.org/docs/manmaster/man5/x509v3_config.html#Subject_Alternative_Name_) (SAN) extension. With SNI available, virtual hosts can present different certificates on a single HTTPS port. You can assign which certificates (key pairs) are used by which virtual host from the [HTTPS Listeners](pa_assigning_key_pairs_to_https_listeners.html) window. |

The **Agent Resource Cache TTL** advanced field is used to control PingAccess agent resources for each virtual host.

If you configure a trusted certificate group for a virtual host, or configure an engine key pair to associate it with a virtual host, those settings are used instead of any applicable HTTPS listeners or engine listeners for the virtual host.