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= Nginx & Apache =

Working with virtual servers (like [[OpenVZ]] containers or [[XEN]] dom's) you might need a load balancing or a proxy solution to be able to run services from inside those machines through your host's single public IP address.

Here you will find how to solve such a situation using [[Nginx]] and [[Apache]]. (Apache already has mod_proxy module which can be used instead of Nginx, but the second one is much lighter and scalable, so I recommend you using it.)

Note: This tutorial assumes you already have a working environment like the one described above.

= Nginx Installation =

Just use your favorite package manager and install nginx package:
{{{
sudo apt-get install nginx
}}}

/!\ Warning Hardy users!
In order to have SSL support please refer to the solution described in [[https://bugs.edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nginx/+bug/395637|bug #395637]].

== Nginx configuration for proxy behavior ==

Nginx uses the following directives (as an example) in it's configuration files to behave like a proxy:
{{{
proxy_redirect          off;
proxy_set_header        Host            $host;
proxy_set_header        X-Real-IP       $remote_addr;
proxy_set_header        X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
client_max_body_size    10m;
client_body_buffer_size 128k;
proxy_connect_timeout   90;
proxy_send_timeout      90;
proxy_read_timeout      90;
proxy_buffers           32 4k;
}}}

Create the file `/etc/nginx/proxy.conf` containing all the informations above. We will include this file in every nginx vhost we need to be a proxy.

== Nginx vhost proxy example ==

Create an nginx vhost by creating a file inside `/etc/nginx/sites-enabled/` like this:
{{{
server {
	listen   80;
	server_name  foo.bar.no foo.bar.yes foo.bar.ok;

	access_log  /var/log/nginx/access.log;


	location / {
		proxy_pass	http://172.27.0.2/;
		include		/etc/nginx/proxy.conf;
	}
}
}}}

The example above will be a proxy for every domain listed with `server_name`, and the server which will be used for proxy is under `proxy_pass` directive.

Done with nginx.
Reload it:
{{{
invoke-rc.d nginx reload
}}}

= Apache configuration =

This assumes you are working on a machine behind the host that uses nginx as a proxy ( an OpenVZ container, XEN dom or a machine inside your network which is connected to the host we installed Nginx before)

== Apache to use proxy ==

Apache will doesn't know who connects to it except the host ip address we set up nginx. To repair this, we need to install Apache's mod_rpaf.
Use your favorite package manager to install `libapache2-mod-rpaf`:
{{{
sudo apt-get install libapache2-mod-rpaf
}}}

`mod_rpaf` requires the following directives inside a vhost to work:
{{{
<IfModule mod_rpaf.c>
RPAFenable On
RPAFsethostname On
RPAFproxy_ips 172.27.0.1
</IfModule>
}}}

Where `RPAFproxy_ips` can be multiple IP addresses, one of which is our Nginx proxy private IP address.