Using port number for Windows host

how.md

SOURCE

I managed to achieve this by using Windows included Networking tool netsh.

The hosts file is for host name resolution only, so a combination of the two did the trick for me.

Example

Overview

example.app:80
 |                           <--Link by Hosts File
 +--> 127.65.43.21:80
       |                     <--Link by netsh Utility
       +--> localhost:8081

Actions

• Started my server on localhost:8081
• Added my "local DNS" in the hosts file as a new line
  • 127.65.43.21 example.app
    • Any free address in the network 127.0.0.0/8 (127.x.x.x) can be used.
    • Note: I am assuming 127.65.43.21:80 is not occupied by another service.
    • You can check with netstat -a -n -p TCP | grep "LISTENING"
  • added the following network configuration with netsh command utility
    • netsh interface portproxy add v4tov4 listenport=80 listenaddress=127.65.43.21 connectport=8081 connectaddress=127.0.0.1
  • I can now access the server at http://example.app

Notes

• netsh portproxy needs ipv6 libraries even only to use v4tov4, typically they will also be included by default, otherwise install them using the following command: netsh interface ipv6 install

You can see the entry you have added with the command:
netsh interface portproxy show v4tov4
You can remove the entry with the following command:
netsh interface portproxy delete v4tov4 listenport=80 listenaddress=127.65.43.21