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Configure a Back End for a Web Application

In this lab, we set up a back end for the existing front end of a web application. We do this by creating a proper folder that will hold the code of our back end. Then we proceed to create a systemd file which will be used to start, stop, and get the status of this process at any given time. In addition to this, we will daemonize the process in this manner. In general, we might ask ourselves what does this have to do with Apache web server? If we have a front-end web application served to us via the Apache web server, there likely exists a back end that will fetch the content to be presented by the front end. In addition to this, Apache web server doesn't necessarily need to be configured to serve websites. It can also serve as a reverse proxy for various API's and serve pretty much any content imaginable. Therefore, it stands to reason we should know how to configure Apache web server to interact not only with the user, website, or front end, but the back end as well.

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Path Info

Level
Clock icon Intermediate
Duration
Clock icon 1h 0m
Published
Clock icon Oct 18, 2019

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Table of Contents

  1. Challenge

    Create a New Directory for the Back End and Move `app.py` to the Newly-Created Directory

    mkdir /home/cloud_user/Backend

    sudo mv /home/cloud_user/HardeningApache-master/app.py /home/cloud_user/Backend/

    sudo chown cloud_user:cloud_user /home/cloud_user/Backend/app.py

  2. Challenge

    Install Dependencies: python36.x86_64, python36-devel.x86_64, "Development Tools", python36-pip, Flask, flask-cors, psutil, and tcpdump, then Open Port 65535 with `firewalld`

    sudo yum install epel-release

    sudo yum update

    sudo yum install python36

    sudo yum install python36-devel

    sudo yum groupinstall "Development Tools"

    sudo yum install python36-pip

    ln -s /usr/local/bin/pip3 /usr/bin/pip3

    sudo pip3 install Flask

    sudo pip3 install flask-cors

    sudo pip3 install psutil

    sudo yum install tcpdump

    sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=65535/tcp

    sudo firewall-cmd --reload

  3. Challenge

    Create a systemd File for Our Back End Called "flaskapp.service" in `/etc/systemd/system/`

    sudo vim /etc/systemd/system/flaskapp.service

    [Unit]
Description=API_Backend
After=network.target

[Service]
User=root
Group=root
WorkingDirectory=/home/cloud_user/Backend
Environment=FLASK_ENV=development
Environment=FLASK_APP=/home/cloud_user/Backend/app.py
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/flask run -h 0.0.0.0 -p 65535
Restart=always
            
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

    Save and Close

    sudo systemctl daemon-reload

    sudo systemctl start flaskapp

    sudo systemctl enable flaskapp

  4. Challenge

    Configure the Front End to Be Able to Access the Back End and Test If the Back End Works

    vim /var/www/html/index.html

    Insert the Server Public IP address here

    var base_url = 'http://<Server_Public_IP>:65535';

    Save and close

    ESC
:wq
ENTER

    Test if it works

    curl http://<Server_Public_IP>:65535/log_messages
A Cloud Guru - Labs - Configure a Back End for a Web Application
Author
A Cloud Guru

The Cloud Content team comprises subject matter experts hyper focused on services offered by the leading cloud vendors (AWS, GCP, and Azure), as well as cloud-related technologies such as Linux and DevOps. The team is thrilled to share their knowledge to help you build modern tech solutions from the ground up, secure and optimize your environments, and so much more!

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