Lab
A Cloud Guru

Using HTTP Rewrites with HAProxy

Wouldn’t it be great if we could manage all our HTTP requests, all in one place? HAProxy has the power to implement HTTP rewrites, changing the request as it moves between the client and the backend servers, transparently. In this hands-on lab, we’re going to get hands-on with HAProxy, using it to configure and test a basic HTTP rewrite. We’re also going to consolidate 2 HTTP `frontends` into 1, using access control lists (ACLs) to direct traffic to the correct `backend`, based on request hostname. Upon completion of this lab, you will be able to configure an HAProxy installation to implement a basic HTTP rewrite as well as implement HAProxy ACLs.

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Path Info

Level

Intermediate

Duration

30m

Published

Jun 30, 2021

Challenge

Create a Rewrite and Some ACLs
We're going to create a new subdirectory on the site, /textfiles and move our test.txt file there. We will handle requests for the file in its original location, /test.txt, using an HTTP rewrite in HAProxy.

Perform the following:
- Start by creating the new /usr/share/nginx/html/textfiles directory in each container using the podman exec command.
- Next, we'll move the test.txt file to the /textfiles subdirectory.
- Check your work by opening a bash shell in one container using podman exec.
  - Check the contents of the /usr/share/nginx/html directory.
  - Check the contents of /usr/share/nginx/html/textfiles.
  - Exit the container.
- Perform the following checks with curl:
  - http://127.0.0.1:8000/test.txt
  - http://127.0.0.1:8100/test.txt
  - http://127.0.0.1:8000/textfiles/test.txt
  - http://127.0.0.1:8100/textfiles/test.txt
  - The first 2 will fail, the second 2 should work.
- Add a rewrite to each of the frontends in the HAProxy configuration file that looks for requests for files that end in .txt and sets the path for those requests to /textfiles/.
  - Restart the haproxy service.
  - Perform the following checks with curl:
    
    http://127.0.0.1:8000/test.txt
    
    http://127.0.0.1:8100/test.txt
    
    http://127.0.0.1:8000/textfiles/test.txt
    
    http://127.0.0.1:8100/textfiles/test.txt
    
    All checks should work now.
Challenge

Consolidate the HTTP Frontends Using ACLs
We're going to replace the 2 HTTP frontends with a single frontend, using ACLs, so that requests for www.site1.com are directed to the site1 backend, and requests for www.site2.com are directed to the site2 backend.

Perform the following:
- Consolidate the 2 frontends into a single http frontend.
  - Bind the frontend to port 80 for all addresses.
  - Keep the current rewrites.
  - Add an ACL for each site, so that requests for www.site1.com are directed to the site1 backend, and requests for www.site2.com are directed to the site2 backend.
  - Leave the 2 backends untouched.
  - Restart the haproxy service.
  - Perform the following checks with curl:
    
    http://www.site1.com/test.txt
    
    http://www.site2.com/test.txt

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!

What's a lab?

Hands-on Labs are real environments created by industry experts to help you learn. These environments help you gain knowledge and experience, practice without compromising your system, test without risk, destroy without fear, and let you learn from your mistakes. Hands-on Labs: practice your skills before delivering in the real world.