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Using Vanity URLs

You can easily create a shorter and more memorable URL to access a CloudShare environment whenever the Web Access feature is enabled for a VM. This is called a Vanity URL.

For example, for a machine with the URL http://uvo1vhrfv1YEcozxzltwew.env.cloudshare.com, you might assign an alternative Vanity URL such as http://3dportals-test.cld.sr.

Note that Vanity URLs will only work with VMs that use a web application.

Configuring a Vanity URL

All Vanity URLs for an account are maintained on the CloudShare Vanity URLs page.

  1. From the main menu, click Vanity URLs. The Vanity URLs page will appear. At the top of the page, the Editable Vanity URLs section will list any Vanity URLs which are already assigned to active environments. (You can select an existing Vanity URL from this list to Edit or Release, as described below).
  2. At the bottom of the page, the Assign Vanity Names section enables you to create a new Vanity URL:

VanityURL-CreateDialog_200722.png

  1. From the Project drop-down list, select the project for which you want to create the Vanity URL.
  2. From the Environment drop-down list, select the environment for which you want to create the Vanity URL. (Only environments associated with your selected project will be listed). The list of VMs for your selected environment will be displayed.

  3. From the listing, locate the VM that is using the web application you wish to assign a Vanity Name, and at the right side of the list, click Create. The selected VM will be displayed in the VM field, along with additional fields. If a project name abbreviation is needed for your project, a configuration dialog will be displayed:

    VanityURL-ProjectAbbrevDialog_310722.png

  4. Enter a valid abbreviation and click Save and continue. Project abbreviating is an optional string that will automatically be appended to your new vanity names. To update the project abbreviation, contact CloudShare Support.
  5. In the Choose Vanity Name field, enter a vanity name for the VM. This text will become part of the Vanity URL. As this name must meet standard DNS specifications, only alphanumeric characters and hyphens can be used for the Vanity Name. The Preview display for your Vanity URL is updated according to your input.
  6. Ensure that the Enable Web Access checkbox is activated.
  7. Optionally activate the Start with HTTPS checkbox to force use of an TSL/SSL web connection.
  8. When finished, click Save. The new Vanity URL will be stored and also added to the list of VMs. Only a single Vanity URL can be maintained for a VM at any time.

When a Vanity URL exists for a VM, it will also be displayed in the details for that VM, as shown on the Environment Details page:

VanityURL-VMDetails_200722.png

Editing a Vanity URL

To change the settings for an existing Vanity URL, select its associated VM from the Editable Vanity URLs section (or from the list of VMs in the Assign Vanity URL section), and click Edit.

After editing settings for the Vanity URL, click Save to store your changes.

Releasing a Vanity URL

To remove an existing Vanity URL, select its associated VM from the Editable Vanity URLs section (or from the list of VMs in the Assign Vanity URL section), and click Release. A confirmation dialog will be displayed:

VanityURL-ReleaseWarning_200722.png

Click Release again to remove the assigned Vanity URL from the VM.

Whenever you release a Vanity URL from a VM, the name that you assigned to it will be made available for use by a different Vanity URL.

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