SharePoint 2013 app for non HNSC ready web application

Question

If I have usual (non Hosting Named Site Collection ready web application) on SharePoint Server 2013 farm, is it possible to add SharePoint apps to such a web application?

EDIT Thank you C. Marius and Per Jakobsen for pointing me out the way. But let me ask the question in a little bit another way.

Imagine an enterprise that has SharePoint 2010 farm deployed. The SharePoint admin of this farm is requested to deploy SharePoint Server 2013 farm.

He makes it (as usual) by creating a web application on port 80 without using host header. Then the new farm gets populated.

And then somebody decides to install some app from SharePoint App Store. From what I uderstand a next web application on port 80 and without using host header should be created for hosting apps.

How our brave SharePoint admin could behaive in such a situation?

Answer 1

Yes, it should be possible provided that you followed all the steps to configure the "App Development " environment, see Mirjam's tips about configuring it http://sharepointchick.com/archive/2012/07/29/setting-up-your-app-domain-for-sharepoint-2013.aspx, and additionally you would need a site collection using the Developer site template to be able to direclty deploy from Visual Studio 2012.

Alternatively, you could still benefit from Office 365 to try some stuff without going through the pain of configuring the whole thing.

I've also managed to get the environment working by using local HOSTS file instead of DNS, but keep it simple, don't go for nested domains, etc.

Answer 2

Unless all your apps are without AppWebs, then besides setting up then environment as linked to by @CMarius it's important to have a web application with no hostname assigned to it to serve as the host for the AppWebs. This web application doesn't need to be the one used for any of your real site collections, but as always to be supported it need a site collection at the root (this can be with any (even no) template).