I tried asking this question on stackoverflow, but it got ignored, so it might be something stupid.

I used the recommended Linode setup for Apache, but I was wondering if I can set the server external IP as a domain for testing.

On my Amazon server setup it works because all the domains point to the same folder.

    domain1.com - /var/www/domain1
    domain2.com - /var/www/domain2
    ex.ter.nal.ip - /var/www/

So I can use ex.ter.nal.ip/test for a testing website.

On my Linode setup I moved the folders inside the user directories

    domain1.com - /home/user1/public/domain1
    domain2.com - /home/user2/public/domain2
    ex.ter.nal.ip goes to domain2.com (I think it points to the last enabled site in Apache -a2ensite)

Is there a way to make it work?
I tried adding a vhost with <VirtualHost ex.ter.nal.ip> with the /home/test DocumentRoot, but then all the websites point to the test directory.

My domain vhost file looks like this:

    <VirtualHost *:80>
      ServerName  www.domain1.com
      ServerAlias domain1.com
    
      DirectoryIndex index.html index.php
      DocumentRoot /home/user1/public/domain1.com/public
    
      <Directory /home/user1/public/domain1.com/public>
        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
        AllowOverride All
        Order allow,deny
        allow from all
      </Directory>
    </VirtualHost>

My testing one looks lithe this, but when enabled all the domains point to the test folder

    <VirtualHost ex.ter.nal.ip>
      ServerName ex.ter.nal.ip
    
      DirectoryIndex index.html index.php
      DocumentRoot /home/test/public
    
      <Directory /home/test/public>
        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
        AllowOverride All
        Order allow,deny
        allow from all
      </Directory>
    </VirtualHost>

Until someone who actually knows what they are doing comes along, you virtual domain is grabbing every incoming connection- "<VirtualHost *:80>". You need to specify that ip address as well.
I would question why you need/want to do this though- you can specify a virtual host for testing, and it will not be live until you change the name servers to point to it, but you can access is for testing by making an entry in your local hosts file.

_________________
--
Chris Bryant

And how can I do that?

I basically want to access something like 31.221.29.228/test and get to /home/test/public.
At the moment if I'm trying 31.221.29.228/test it goes to mydomain.com/test

If you already have a domain you could use a subdomain along with your existing vhost. to me that's the easiest way i would do it.

Don't use <VirtualHost ip.ad.dr.here> at all - make them all <VirtualHost *:80>

The first <VirtualHost> block is used for all the accesses that don't match any of the ServerName/ServerAlias lines in any of the blocks - it's a catch-all.
If you're using the Debian-style sites-available directory, just name that one like 000test or __test or such, they're loaded in alphabetical order.

Personally, I think it looks very unprofessional to have the "catch all" address to display list of all sites, or tests, or any such stuff - it's just too easy for your customers to accidentally see it and complain.
Consider making it an empty vhost, a "business card" website, or such.
For testing, add another vhost - if you have your own domain use a subdomain of it, if you don't use something like testweb.private and add a line to your PC's hosts file pointing this name at the IP.

Also, Servername shouldn't have http:// in it.

#File 000catchall
<VirtualHost *:80>
      ServerName  liXX-yyy.members.linode.com
      #or
      #ServerName  your.own.domain.if.you.have.one
    
      DocumentRoot /var/www/businesscard
</VirtualHost>

#File test
<VirtualHost *:80>
      ServerName  test.your.own.domain
    
      DocumentRoot /var/www/test
</VirtualHost>

#File domain1.com
<VirtualHost *:80>
      ServerName  www.domain1.com
      ServerAlias domain1.com
    
      DocumentRoot /home/user1/public/domain1.com/public
</VirtualHost>

#File domain2.com
<VirtualHost *:80>
      ServerName  www.domain2.com
      ServerAlias domain2.com
    
      DocumentRoot /home/user2/public/domain2.com/public
</VirtualHost>

_________________
rsk, providing useless advice on the Internet since 2005.