Tag: apache

Here’s the configuration I use to run Apache httpd as a reverse proxy in front of a back-end service, with SSL termination and WebSocket support, on a Red Hat-family server.

1. Load the Proxy Modules

Edit the proxy module config:

vi /etc/httpd/conf.modules.d/00-proxy.conf

Make sure these modules are loaded:

# Load necessary modules
LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.so
LoadModule ssl_module modules/mod_ssl.so
LoadModule proxy_module modules/mod_proxy.so
LoadModule proxy_http_module modules/mod_proxy_http.so
LoadModule proxy_wstunnel_module modules/mod_proxy_wstunnel.so

# Load lbmethod modules
LoadModule lbmethod_bybusyness_module modules/mod_lbmethod_bybusyness.so
LoadModule lbmethod_byrequests_module modules/mod_lbmethod_byrequests.so
LoadModule lbmethod_bytraffic_module modules/mod_lbmethod_bytraffic.so
LoadModule lbmethod_heartbeat_module modules/mod_lbmethod_heartbeat.so

# Load additional proxy modules
LoadModule proxy_ajp_module modules/mod_proxy_ajp.so
LoadModule proxy_balancer_module modules/mod_proxy_balancer.so
LoadModule proxy_connect_module modules/mod_proxy_connect.so
LoadModule proxy_express_module modules/mod_proxy_express.so
LoadModule proxy_fcgi_module modules/mod_proxy_fcgi.so
LoadModule proxy_fdpass_module modules/mod_proxy_fdpass.so
LoadModule proxy_ftp_module modules/mod_proxy_ftp.so
LoadModule proxy_hcheck_module modules/mod_proxy_hcheck.so
LoadModule proxy_scgi_module modules/mod_proxy_scgi.so
LoadModule proxy_uwsgi_module modules/mod_proxy_uwsgi.so

2. Create the Site’s VirtualHost

Edit your site’s config file:

vi /etc/httpd/sites-enabled/service.domainname.com.conf

Replace the host name, certificate paths, and backendserverIP:portnumber with your own values. The rewrite rules send WebSocket upgrade requests to the back end over ws://; everything else goes through ProxyPass.

<VirtualHost *:443>
ServerName service.domainname.com

SSLEngine on
SSLCertificateFile /etc/pki/tls/certs/yourcert.crt
SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/pki/tls/private/yourprivatekey_privatekey.key
SSLCertificateChainFile /etc/pki/tls/certs/bundle.crt

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP:Upgrade} =websocket [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP:Connection} upgrade [NC]
RewriteRule /(.*) "ws://backendserverIP:portnumber/$1" [P,L]

ProxyPreserveHost On
ProxyPass / http://backendserverIP:portnumber/
ProxyPassReverse / http://backendserverIP:portnumber/

ErrorLog /var/log/httpd/service.domainname.com/error.log
CustomLog /var/log/httpd/service.domainname.com/access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

3. Restart Apache

Restart httpd and test your new site. Related: Apache security headers for an A+ rating.