mod_jk and mod_rewrite with prefix

Question

We are trying to configure apache to forward requests to different servers hosting different Application servers.

We want to achieve the following.

www.mydomain.com/server1 --->forward to ---> 172.30.34.50:8082 (AP1 jboss)
www.mydomain.com/server2 --->forward to ---> 172.30.34.51:8082  (AP2 jboss)

Our current configuration:

mod_jk.conf:

JkOptions +ForwardKeySize +ForwardURICompat -ForwardDirectories

httpd.conf

JkMount /cliente1* ajp13unsecure

RewriteEngine on   
RewriteLog logs/apache-mod_rewrite.log
RewriteLogLevel 3
RewriteRule ^/cliente1(/)?([^/]*)/?$ /$2 [L,PT]  (tried w/o PT with no success)

The problem is that when mod_jk forwards the request, it gets to the application servers like this: 172.30.34.50:8082/server1

Which is not a valid resource in the application server, it should go to root ( 172.30.34.50:8082 )

We tried using mod_rewrite , but it triggers before mod_jk , so when apache try to match mod_jk rule, it doesn't satisfy the condition anymore. And the request is not forwarded.

How can we get mod_rewrite to trigger right before mod_jk does the forwarding so the application servers get the correct URI.

Or is there a way to configure mod_jk to forward request without the context?

Answer 1

How can we get mod_rewrite to trigger right before mod_jk does the forwarding so the application servers get the correct URI.

Not too sure why I have noticed an uptick in people asking about mod_jk , but in my experience mod_proxy works better & is easier to understand for doing what you are attempting to do.

To enable mod_proxy in Apache do the following; assuming you are on Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo a2enmod proxy proxy_http

Then restart Apache like this; again assuming you are on Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo service apache2 restart

That done, this is a simple setup that should work within your Apache config. Winging it based on your settings:

# Settings for adding a trailing slash to the URL
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/(server1|server2)$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://%{HTTP_HOST}$1/ [R=301,L]

# Settings for Apache Reverse Proxying
<IfModule mod_proxy.c>

  # Proxy specific settings
  ProxyRequests Off
  ProxyPreserveHost On

  <Proxy *>
    AddDefaultCharset off
    Order deny,allow
    Allow from all
  </Proxy>

  ProxyPass /server1 http://172.30.34.50:8082/
  ProxyPassReverse /server1 http://172.30.34.50:8082/

  ProxyPass /server2 http://172.30.34.51:8082/
  ProxyPassReverse /server2 http://172.30.34.51:8082/

</IfModule>

The initial mod_rewrite settings add a trailing slash to URLs which I found I needed to do in cases where a path fragment—like /server1 and /server2 —were going through a reverse proxy.

Also note I have /server1 and /server2 set but they might need to have a slash added to them like this /server1/ and this /server2/ . Experiment to see what works best.