How to configure Apache in Magento 2?

Apache config in Magento consists of few parts and the first part is to configure the Apache as an unsecure proxy:

Configuring proxy

Step 1. Enable mod_proxy:

a2enmod proxy_http

Step 2. Open the /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf with the help of text editor.

Step 3. Put the following command to the top of the file:

Listen 8080

Step 4. Put the following command to the bottom of the file:

<VirtualHost *:8080>

    ProxyPass "/" "http://localhost:9200/"

    ProxyPassReverse "/" "http://localhost:9200/"

</VirtualHost>

Step 5. Restart Apache:

service apache2 restart

Step 6. Make sure the proxy is working by typing the following command:

curl -i http://localhost:<proxy port>/_cluster/health

Messages like the one below indicate success:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Tue, 23 Feb 2019 20:38:03 GMT
Content-Type: application/json; charset=UTF-8
Content-Length: 389
Connection: keep-alive
{"cluster_name":"elasticsearch","status":"yellow","timed_out":false,"number_of_nodes":1,"number_of_data_nodes":1,"active_primary_shards":5,
"active_shards":5,"relocating_shards":0,"initializing_shards":0,"unassigned_shards":5,"delayed_unassigned_shards":0,"number_of_pending_tasks":0,
"number_of_in_flight_fetch":0,"task_max_waiting_in_queue_millis":0,"active_shards_percent_as_number":50.0}

Setting up HTTP Basic authentication

The next part of the Magento 2 Apache configuration is securing communication between Apache and Elasticsearch using HTTP Basic Authentication:

Step 1. Create a password by installing the htpasswd:

mkdir -p /usr/local/apache/password

htpasswd -c /usr/local/apache/password/.<password file name> <username>

Step 2. Configure a secure virtual host by specifying who can access the Apache server:

Open the /etc/apache2/sites-available/default-ssl.conf  and edit it with the help of text editor:

<Proxy *>

    Order deny,allow

    Allow from all

    AuthType Basic

    AuthName "Elastic Server"

    AuthBasicProvider file

    AuthUserFile /usr/local/apache/password/.htpasswd_elasticsearch

    Require valid-user

  # This allows OPTIONS-requests without authorization

  <LimitExcept OPTIONS>

        Require valid-user

  </LimitExcept>

</Proxy>

If you added the above information to your secure virtual host, remove the Listen 8080 and <VirtualHost *: 8080> directives. 

Save the changes, close the editor, and restart Apache.

Step 3. Make sure communication is secure

This can be done in two ways:

• Using the curl command to check
• Configuring Basic HTTP Authentication in Magento Admin

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