Ok, so here is the scenario:
I have computer A inside my local network running IIS 7. I added a new website, let's say samplesite.local, through IIS Manager, and edited the hosts file inside %systemroot%\system32\drivers\etc\ with this new line:
127.0.0.1 samplesite.local
So, in a browser running in computer A, if I type samplesite.local in the address bar and hit Enter, everything works fine. I can access the website.
Now I wanted to access this website from other local computers, say, computer B or an iPad, not from the outside world, but from inside the same local network.
Any thoughts?
Edit:
Computer A's IP is 192.168.1.100, and samplesite.local is running on port 80. However, if I type 192.168.1.100 in any computer's browser's address bar, I'm taken to the default IIS website, the one with the IIS logo, whose physical address is C:\inetpub\wwwroot\, not to samplesite.local.
Add two bindings to your website, one for local access and another for LAN access like so:
Open IIS and select your local website (that you want to access from your local network) from the left panel:
Connections > server (user-pc) > sites > local site
Open Bindings on the right panel under Actions tab
add these bindings:
Local:
Type: http
Ip Address: All Unassigned
Port: 80
Host name: samplesite.local
LAN:
Type: http
Ip Address: <Network address of the hosting machine ex. 192.168.0.10>
Port: 80
Host name: <Leave it blank>
Voila, you should be able to access the website from any machine on your local network by using the host's LAN IP address (192.168.0.10 in the above example) as the site url.
NOTE:
if you want to access the website from LAN using a host name (like samplesite.local) instead of an ip address, add the host name to the hosts file on the local network machine (The hosts file can be found in "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts" in windows, or "/etc/hosts" in ubuntu):
192.168.0.10 samplesite.local
do not turn off firewall,
Go Control Panel\System and Security\Windows Firewall then Advanced settings then Inbound Rules->From right pan choose New Rule-> Port-> TCP and type in port number 80 then give a name in next window, that's it.
Control Panel >> Windows Firewall
Advanced settings >> Inbound Rules >> World Wide Web Services - Enable it All or (Domain, Private, Public) as needed.
Find the local IP address of computer A and find the port that your website is running on. Then from computer B open a web browser and go to IP:port. Example: 192.168.1.5:80 if computer A's IP is 192.168.1.5 and your website is running on port 80
Control Panel >> Windows Firewall >> Turn windows firewall on or off >> Turn off.
Advanced settings >> Domain profile >> Windows firewall properties >> Firewall status >> Off.