Configure alternate access mappings SharePoint 2016 step by step

Here in this SharePoint 2016 tutorial, we will discuss what is an alternate access mapping in SharePoint 2016? how to configure alternate access mappings sharepoint 2016 step by step.

Alternate access mapping in SharePoint

Alternate Access mappings in SharePoint allow you to create multiple URLs for the same web application.

This will help users from the internal company network users to access the intranet site by simply using http/https URL and forcing outside the network users accessing it from the internet to use the fully-qualified domain name.

Note: Alternate Access

Example:

• Internal users: http://contoso.com
• External users: http://intranet.contoso.com

There are 2 types of Alternate Access Mappings can be configured in SharePoint 2016 they are:

• Internal URLs
• Public URLs

Internal URL:
We could say Internal URL is simply an alias for the same site. This means when users type this URL in browser SharePoint redirects them to the Public URL of this Web Application.

Public URL:
This is the other URL configured/mapped to the SharePoint Web Application. This URL completely looks different than the actual URL of the Web Application. However, this URL will be pointed/linked to the same Web Application.

Flow:

• User requested SharePoint site and it must be resolved in DNS fist and then it will route back to load balancer (or) SharePoint Web Front End Server (SP-WFE)
• IN WFE, IIS will receive the request and look for an IIS binding or an IIS Site
• Once IIS matches one of the Sites then the request will go to SharePoint and render the SharePoint site to the user

Note: The load balancer can any this like F5 / NetScaler / Kemp etc

Key Points:
Please follow the below 3 key points white working with Alternate Access Mappings

• Alternate Access Mappings managed from Central admin will affect only in SharePoint alone.
• Changing an Alternate Access Mapping does not make any changes in DNS or IIS
• Whenever a new URL to be mapped to a Web Application nor edit the existed should be implemented in 3 different places:

• DNS (Domain Name Server)
• IIS
• AAM

Configure alternate access mappings SharePoint 2016

• Log-on to the Application server with a FARM administrator account
• Open SharePoint Central Administration -> Configure alternate access mappings

• It will take you to the next page and you will be able to add/edit the Alternate Access Mappings.

• Click on “Add Internal URLs”

• As soon as you create the Alternate Access Mapping you need to ensure that the same has been added to DNS. It can be done by only IT.

After adding the DNS entry you need to do the mapping in IIS also.

Steps to be followed:

• Open Internet Information Services
• Expand Sites and select the required web application
• Click on the Bindings under Actions

• Click on add on Add on the popup.

• Enter the URL and click on OK.

• Open the SharePoint site collection URL in IE

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In this SharePoint 2016 tutorial, we learned alternate access mapping in sharepoint 2010/2013/2016, and how to configure alternate access mappings sharepoint 2016 step by step.