DSpace

DSpace: Configure apache2 as reverse proxy in front of tomcat

Last updated on: Published by: DSpace Ninja 0

This post guides you on how to configure apache2 to run as a reverse proxy in front of tomcat. The reason I personally use apache2 instead of directly exposing tomcat is because it becomes easy to install SSL certicates and automate their renewal. There could be other reasons, managing SSL certificates on tomcat is not as straight forward as itis on apache2 or other web servers such as nginx.

This guide assumes that you have installed DSpace and that it is running on port 8080 which is the default port number for a tomcat installation.

Begin with installing apache2 on your Ubuntu 18.04 as shown below

sudo apt install apache2 -y

Now when you access http://localhost on your server, you should see the default apache2 web page.

Enable mod_proxy

Issue the following command to enable mod_proxy in apache2

sudo a2enmod proxy_http

This will enable both mod proxy and mod proxy_http at once

Configure apache2 virtual hosts

Open the file /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default.conf as shown below

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default.conf

Then edit the virtual host as shown here

VirtualHost *:80>
	ServerName hostname.com

	ProxyRequests On
	ProxyPass / http://localhost:8080/
	ProxyPassReverse / http://localhost:8080/

	<Location "/">
	  Order allow,deny
	  Allow from all
	</Location>

</VirtualHost>

Restart apache2

Issue the following command to restart apache2

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Now if you go to http://localhost in your browser, you should see your dspace being served by apache2