Apache + Tomcat: Using mod_proxy instead of AJP

Question

Is there any way I connect Apache to Tomcat using an HTTP proxy such that Tomcat gets the correct incoming host name rather than localhost? I'm using this directive in apache:

ProxyPass /path http://localhost:8080/path

But it comes through as localhost, which is useless when we have a bunch of sites on the same server. I could set the host manually in the server config:

<Connector port="8080" protocol="HTTP/1.1"
           connectionTimeout="20000"
           proxyName="pretend.host" proxyPort="80" />

But that again doesn't serve more than one site. And I don't like the idea of using a different internal port for each site, that sounds really ugly.

Is there no way to transfer the port when I proxy it?

(If you ask why I don't just use AJP, the answer is this error . I'm trying everything I can before giving up on Tomcat and Apache entirely )

Answer 1

The settings you are looking for are:

<VirtualHost *:80>
  ServerName public.server.name

  ProxyRequests Off
  ProxyPreserveHost On

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

  ProxyPass / http://localhost:8080/
  ProxyPassReverse / http://localhost:8080/
</VirtualHost>

Note that we're using localhost as the proxy target. We can do this since we enable ProxyPreserveHost . The documentation states that

It is mostly useful in special configurations like proxied mass name-based virtual hosting, where the original Host header needs to be evaluated by the backend server.

which sounds exactly like what you are doing.

Answer 2

I think your best bet if you want multiple sites on the same server is to use virtual hosts in your Apache configuration. Here's an example:

<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerName server.domain.com

ProxyRequests Off
<Proxy *>
    Order deny,allow
    Allow from all
</Proxy>

ProxyPass / http://server.domain.com:8080/
ProxyPassReverse / http://server.domain.com:8080/
<Location />
    Order allow,deny
    Allow from all
</Location>

As long as you have server.domain.com registered in your external DNS, the incoming host name will be displayed in client URLs. I'm running a single server hosting 6 separate sites, including 3 that are back by Tomcat, using this method.

Answer 3

You can still use AJP, and you should since it's faster than HTTP. Just make sure to enable it in http.conf:

LoadModule proxy_module modules/mod_proxy.so
LoadModule proxy_ajp_module modules/mod_proxy_ajp.so

In that case, this configuration works for me:

<VirtualHost *:80>
  ServerName public.server.name

  ProxyRequests Off
  ProxyPreserveHost On

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

  ProxyPass / ajp://localhost:8080/
# ProxyPassReverse might not be needed,
# it's only for redirecting from inside.
#  ProxyPassReverse / ajp://localhost:8080/
</VirtualHost>