### Apache HTTP Server Version 1.3

# Apache module mod_proxy

This module is contained in the `mod_proxy.c` file for Apache 1.1.x, or the `modules/proxy` subdirectory for Apache 1.2, and is not compiled in by default. It provides for an HTTP 1.0 caching proxy server. It is only available in Apache 1.1 and later. Common configuration questions are addressed after the directive descriptions.

### Note:

This module was experimental in Apache 1.1.x. As of Apache 1.2, mod_proxy stability is greatly improved.

## Summary

This module implements a proxy/cache for Apache. It implements proxying capability for `FTP`, `CONNECT` (for SSL), `HTTP/0.9`, and `HTTP/1.0`. The module can be configured to connect to other proxy modules for these and other protocols.

## Directives

- ProxyRequests
- ProxyRemote
- ProxyPass
- ProxyPassReverse
- ProxyBlock
- ProxyReceiveBufferSize
- NoProxy
- ProxyDomain
- CacheRoot
- CacheSize
- CacheMaxExpire
- CacheDefaultExpire
- CacheLastModifiedFactor
- CacheGcInterval
- CacheDirLevels
- CacheDirLength
- NoCache

## ProxyRequests

Syntax: ProxyRequests on/off
Default: `ProxyRequests Off`
Context: server config, virtual host
Override: Not applicable
Status: Base
Module: mod_proxy
Compatibility: ProxyRequests is only available in Apache 1.1 and later.

This allows or prevents Apache from functioning as a proxy server. Setting ProxyRequests to 'off' does not disable use of the ProxyPass directive.

## ProxyRemote

Syntax: ProxyRemote <match> <remote-server>
Default: None
Context: server config, virtual host
Override: Not applicable
Status: Base
Module: mod_proxy
Compatibility: ProxyRemote is only available in Apache 1.1 and later.

This defines remote proxies to this proxy. <match> is either the name of a URL-scheme that the remote server supports, or a partial URL for which the remote server should be used, or '*' to indicate the server should be contacted for all requests. <remote-server> is a partial URL for the remote server. Syntax:

      <remote-server> = <protocol>://<hostname>[:port]

<protocol> is the protocol that should be used to communicate with the remote server; only "http" is supported by this module.

Example:

      ProxyRemote http://goodguys.com/ http://mirrorguys.com:8000
      ProxyRemote * http://cleversite.com
      ProxyRemote ftp http://ftpproxy.mydomain.com:8080

In the last example, the proxy will forward FTP requests, encapsulated as yet another HTTP proxy request, to another proxy which can handle them.

## ProxyPass

Syntax: ProxyPass <path> <url>
Default: None
Context: server config, virtual host
Override: Not applicable
Status: Base
Module: mod_proxy
Compatibility: ProxyPass is only available in Apache 1.1 and later.

This directive allows remote servers to be mapped into the space of the local server; the local server does not act as a proxy in the conventional sense, but appears to be a mirror of the remote server. <path> is the name of a local virtual path; <url> is a partial URL for the remote server.

Suppose the local server has address `http://wibble.org/`; then

       ProxyPass /mirror/foo http://foo.com

will cause a local request for the <`http://wibble.org/mirror/foo/bar`> to be internally converted into a proxy request to <`http://foo.com/bar`>.

## ProxyPassReverse

Syntax: ProxyPassReverse <path> <url>
Default: None
Context: server config, virtual host
Override: Not applicable
Status: Base
Module: mod_proxy
Compatibility: ProxyPassReverse is only available in Apache 1.3b6 and later.

This directive lets Apache adjust the URL in the `Location` header on HTTP redirect responses. For instance this is essential when Apache is used as a reverse proxy to avoid by-passing the reverse proxy because of HTTP redirects on the backend servers which stay behind the reverse proxy.

<path> is the name of a local virtual path.
<url> is a partial URL for the remote server - the same way they are used for the `ProxyPass` directive.

Example:
Suppose the local server has address `http://wibble.org/`; then

       ProxyPass         /mirror/foo http://foo.com
       ProxyPassReverse  /mirror/foo http://foo.com

will not only cause a local request for the <`http://wibble.org/mirror/foo/bar`> to be internally converted into a proxy request to <`http://foo.com/bar`> (the functionality `ProxyPass` provides here). It also takes care of redirects the server foo.com sends: when `http://foo.com/bar` is redirected by him to `http://foo.com/quux` Apache adjusts this to `http://wibble.org/mirror/foo/quux` before forwarding the HTTP redirect response to the client.

Note that this `ProxyPassReverse` directive can also by used in conjunction with the proxy pass-through feature ("`RewriteRule ... [P]`") from `mod_rewrite` because its doesn't depend on a corresponding `ProxyPass` directive.

## ProxyBlock

Syntax: ProxyBlock <word/host/domain list>
Default: None
Context: server config, virtual host
Override: Not applicable
Status: Base
Module: mod_proxy
Compatibility: ProxyBlock is only available in Apache 1.2 and later.

The ProxyBlock directive specifies a list of words, hosts and/or domains, separated by spaces. HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP document requests to matched words, hosts or domains are blocked by the proxy server. The proxy module will also attempt to determine IP addresses of list items which may be hostnames during startup, and cache them for match test as well. Example:

      ProxyBlock joes_garage.com some_host.co.uk rocky.wotsamattau.edu

'rocky.wotsamattau.edu' would also be matched if referenced by IP address.

Note that 'wotsamattau' would also be sufficient to match 'wotsamattau.edu'.

Note also that

    ProxyBlock *

blocks connections to all sites.

## ProxyReceiveBufferSize

Syntax: ProxyReceiveBufferSize <bytes>
Default: None
Context: server config, virtual host
Override: Not applicable
Status: Base
Module: mod_proxy
Compatibility: ProxyReceiveBufferSize is only available in Apache 1.3 and later.

The ProxyReceiveBufferSize directive specifies an explicit network buffer size for outgoing HTTP and FTP connections, for increased throughput. It has to be greater than 512 or set to 0 to indicate that the system's default buffer size should be used.

Example:

      ProxyReceiveBufferSize 2048

## NoProxy

Syntax: NoProxy { <Domain> | <SubNet> | <IpAddr> | <Hostname> }
Default: None
Context: server config, virtual host
Override: Not applicable
Status: Base
Module: mod_proxy
Compatibility: NoProxy is only available in Apache 1.3 and later.

This directive is only useful for Apache proxy servers within intranets. The NoProxy directive specifies a list of subnets, IP addresses, hosts and/or domains, separated by spaces. A request to a host which matches one or more of these is always served directly, without forwarding to the configured ProxyRemote proxy server(s).

Example:

      ProxyRemote  *  http://firewall.mycompany.com:81
      NoProxy         .mycompany.com 192.168.112.0/21

The arguments to the NoProxy directive are one of the following type list:

Domain
  A Domain is a partially qualified DNS domain name, preceded by a period. It represents a list of hosts which logically belong to the same DNS domain or zone (i.e. the suffixes of the hostnames are all ending in Domain).
  Examples: `.com` `.apache.org.`
  To distinguish Domains from Hostnames (both syntactically and semantically; a DNS domain can have a DNS A record, too!), Domains are always written with a leading period.
  Note: Domain name comparisons are done without regard to the case, and Domains are always assumed to be anchored in the root of the DNS tree, therefore two domains `.MyDomain.com` and `.mydomain.com.` (note the trailing period) are considered equal. Since a domain comparison does not involve a DNS lookup, it is much more efficient than subnet comparison.
SubNet
  A SubNet is a partially qualified internet address in numeric (dotted quad) form, optionally followed by a slash and the netmask, specified as the number of significant bits in the SubNet. It is used to represent a subnet of hosts which can be reached over a common network interface. In the absence of the explicit net mask it is assumed that omitted (or zero valued) trailing digits specify the mask. (In this case, the netmask can only be multiples of 8 bits wide.)
  Examples:
  `192.168` or `192.168.0.0`
    the subnet 192.168.0.0 with an implied netmask of 16 valid bits (sometimes used in the netmask form `255.255.0.0`)
  `192.168.112.0/21`
    the subnet `192.168.112.0/21` with a netmask of 21 valid bits (also used in the form 255.255.248.0)
  As a degenerate case, a SubNet with 32 valid bits is the equivalent to an IPAddr, while a SubNet with zero valid bits (e.g., 0.0.0.0/0) is the same as the constant _Default_, matching any IP address.
IPAddr
  A IPAddr represents a fully qualified internet address in numeric (dotted quad) form. Usually, this address represents a host, but there need not necessarily be a DNS domain name connected with the address.
  Example: 192.168.123.7
  Note: An IPAddr does not need to be resolved by the DNS system, so it can result in more effective apache performance.

  See Also: DNS Issues

Hostname
  A Hostname is a fully qualified DNS domain name which can be resolved to one or more IPAddrs via the DNS domain name service. It represents a logical host (in contrast to Domains, see above) and must be resolvable to at least one IPAddr (or often to a list of hosts with different IPAddr's).
  Examples: `prep.ai.mit.edu` `www.apache.org.`
  Note: In many situations, it is more effective to specify an IPAddr in place of a Hostname since a DNS lookup can be avoided. Name resolution in Apache can take a remarkable deal of time when the connection to the name server uses a slow PPP link.
  Note: Hostname comparisons are done without regard to the case, and Hostnames are always assumed to be anchored in the root of the DNS tree, therefore two hosts `WWW.MyDomain.com` and `www.mydomain.com.` (note the trailing period) are considered equal.

  See Also: DNS Issues

## ProxyDomain

Syntax: ProxyDomain <Domain>
Default: None
Context: server config, virtual host
Override: Not applicable
Status: Base
Module: mod_proxy
Compatibility: ProxyDomain is only available in Apache 1.3 and later.

This directive is only useful for Apache proxy servers within intranets. The ProxyDomain directive specifies the default domain which the apache proxy server will belong to. If a request to a host without a domain name is encountered, a redirection response to the same host with the configured Domain appended will be generated.

Example:

      ProxyRemote  *  http://firewall.mycompany.com:81
      NoProxy         .mycompany.com 192.168.112.0/21
      ProxyDomain     .mycompany.com

## CacheRoot

Syntax: CacheRoot <directory>
Default: None
Context: server config, virtual host
Override: Not applicable
Status: Base
Module: mod_proxy
Compatibility: CacheRoot is only available in Apache 1.1 and later.

Sets the name of the directory to contain cache files; this must be writable by the httpd server.

## CacheSize

Syntax: CacheSize <size>
Default: `CacheSize 5`
Context: server config, virtual host
Override: Not applicable
Status: Base
Module: mod_proxy
Compatibility: CacheSize is only available in Apache 1.1 and later.

Sets the desired space usage of the cache, in KB (1024-byte units). Although usage may grow above this setting, the garbage collection will delete files until the usage is at or below this setting.

## CacheGcInterval

Syntax: CacheGcInterval <time>
Default: None
Context: server config, virtual host
Override: Not applicable
Status: Base
Module: mod_proxy
Compatibility: CacheGcinterval is only available in Apache 1.1 and later.

Check the cache every <time> hours, and delete files if the space usage is greater than that set by CacheSize.

## CacheMaxExpire

Syntax: CacheMaxExpire <time>
Default: `CacheMaxExpire 24`
Context: server config, virtual host
Override: Not applicable
Status: Base
Module: mod_proxy
Compatibility: CacheMaxExpire is only available in Apache 1.1 and later.

Cachable HTTP documents will be retained for at most <time> hours without checking the origin server. Thus documents can be at most <time> hours out of date. This restriction is enforced even if an expiry date was supplied with the document.

## CacheLastModifiedFactor

Syntax: CacheLastModifiedFactor <factor>
Default: `CacheLastModifiedFactor 0.1`
Context: server config, virtual host
Override: Not applicable
Status: Base
Module: mod_proxy
Compatibility: CacheLastModifiedFactor is only available in Apache 1.1 and later.

If the origin HTTP server did not supply an expiry date for the document, then estimate one using the formula

      expiry-period = time-since-last-modification * <factor>

For example, if the document was last modified 10 hours ago, and <factor> is 0.1, then the expiry period will be set to 10*0.1 = 1 hour.

If the expiry-period would be longer than that set by CacheMaxExpire, then the latter takes precedence.

## CacheDirLevels

Syntax: CacheDirLevels <levels>
Default: `CacheDirLevels 3`
Context: server config, virtual host
Override: Not applicable
Status: Base
Module: mod_proxy
Compatibility: CacheDirLevels is only available in Apache 1.1 and later.

CacheDirLevels sets the number of levels of subdirectories in the cache. Cached data will be saved this many directory levels below CacheRoot.

## CacheDirLength

Syntax: CacheDirLength <length>
Default: `CacheDirLength 1`
Context: server config, virtual host
Override: Not applicable
Status: Base
Module: mod_proxy
Compatibility: CacheDirLength is only available in Apache 1.1 and later.

CacheDirLength sets the number of characters in proxy cache subdirectory names.

## CacheDefaultExpire

Syntax: CacheDefaultExpire <time>
Default: `CacheDefaultExpire 1`
Context: server config, virtual host
Override: Not applicable
Status: Base
Module: mod_proxy
Compatibility: CacheDefaultExpire is only available in Apache 1.1 and later.

If the document is fetched via a protocol that does not support expiry times, then use <time> hours as the expiry time. CacheMaxExpire does not override this setting.

## NoCache

Syntax: NoCache <word/host/domain list>
Default: None
Context: server config, virtual host
Override: Not applicable
Status: Base
Module: mod_proxy
Compatibility: NoCache is only available in Apache 1.1 and later.

The NoCache directive specifies a list of words, hosts and/or domains, separated by spaces. HTTP and non-passworded FTP documents from matched words, hosts or domains are not cached by the proxy server. The proxy module will also attempt to determine IP addresses of list items which may be hostnames during startup, and cache them for match test as well. Example:

      NoCache joes_garage.com some_host.co.uk bullwinkle.wotsamattau.edu

'bullwinkle.wotsamattau.edu' would also be matched if referenced by IP address.

Note that 'wotsamattau' would also be sufficient to match 'wotsamattau.edu'.

Note also that

    NoCache *

disables caching completely.

## Common configuration topics

- Controlling access to your proxy
- Using Netscape hostname shortcuts
- Why doesn't file type xxx download via FTP?
- Why does Apache start more slowly when using the proxy module?
- Can I use the Apache proxy module with my SOCKS proxy?
- What other functions are useful for an intranet proxy server?

## Controlling access to your proxy

You can control who can access your proxy via the normal <Directory> control block using the following example:

    <Directory proxy:*>
    order deny,allow
    deny from [machines you'd like *not* to allow by IP address or name]
    allow from [machines you'd like to allow by IP address or name]
    </Directory>

A <Files> block will also work, and is the only method known to work for all possible URLs in Apache versions earlier than 1.2b10.

## Using Netscape hostname shortcuts

There is an optional patch to the proxy module to allow Netscape-like hostname shortcuts to be used. It's available from the `contrib/patches/1.2` directory on the Apache Web site.

## Why doesn't file type xxx download via FTP?

You probably don't have that particular file type defined as application/octet-stream in your proxy's mime.types configuration file. A useful line can be

    application/octet-stream        bin dms lha lzh exe class tgz taz

## How can I force an FTP ASCII download of File xxx?

In the rare situation where you must download a specific file using the FTP ASCII transfer method (while the default transfer is in binary mode), you can override mod_proxy's default by suffixing the request with `;type=a` to force an ASCII transfer.

## Why does Apache start more slowly when using the proxy module?

If you're using the `ProxyBlock` or `NoCache` directives, hostnames' IP addresses are looked up and cached during startup for later match test. This may take a few seconds (or more) depending on the speed with which the hostname lookups occur.

## Can I use the Apache proxy module with my SOCKS proxy?

Yes. Just build Apache with the rule `SOCKS4=yes` in your Configuration file, and follow the instructions there. SOCKS5 capability can be added in a similar way (there's no `SOCKS5` rule yet), so use the `EXTRA_LDFLAGS` definition, or build Apache normally and run it with the runsocks wrapper provided with SOCKS5, if your OS supports dynamically linked libraries.

Some users have reported problems when using SOCKS version 4.2 on Solaris. The problem was solved by upgrading to SOCKS 4.3.

Remember that you'll also have to grant access to your Apache proxy machine by permitting connections on the appropriate ports in your SOCKS daemon's configuration.

## What other functions are useful for an intranet proxy server?

An Apache proxy server situated in an intranet needs to forward external requests through the company's firewall. However, when it has to access resources within the intranet, it can bypass the firewall when accessing hosts. The NoProxy directive is useful for specifying which hosts belong to the intranet and should be accessed directly.

Users within an intranet tend to omit the local domain name from their WWW requests, thus requesting "http://somehost/" instead of "http://somehost.my.dom.ain/". Some commercial proxy servers let them get away with this and simply serve the request, implying a configured local domain. When the ProxyDomain directive is used and the server is configured for proxy service, Apache can return a redirect response and send the client to the correct, fully qualified, server address. This is the preferred method since the user's bookmark files will then contain fully qualified hosts.

### Apache HTTP Server Version 1.3