Virtual host setup
This section describes how to set up a virtual host for Exponential using the Apache web-server. A virtual host setup is only needed if Exponential has been configured to use the host access method, which is the most secure method.
By making use of virtual hosts, it is possible to have several sites running on the same server. The sites are usually differentiated by the name they are accessed. Apache will look for a specified set of domains and use different configuration settings based on the domain that is accessed.
Generic virtual host setup
Virtual hosts are usually defined at the end of "httpd.conf", which is the main configuration file for Apache. Adding a virtual host for Exponential can be done by copying the following lines and replacing the text encapsulated by the square brackets with actual values. Please refer to the next section for a real life example of using virtual hosts.
NameVirtualHost [IP_ADDRESS]
<VirtualHost [IP_ADDRESS]:[PORT]>
<Directory [PATH_TO_EZPUBLISH]>
Options FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride None
</Directory>
<IfModule mod_php5.c>
php_admin_flag safe_mode Off
php_admin_value register_globals 0
php_value magic_quotes_gpc 0
php_value magic_quotes_runtime 0
php_value allow_call_time_pass_reference 0
</IfModule>
DirectoryIndex index.php
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^/api/ /index_rest.php [L]
RewriteRule ^/([^/]+/)?content/treemenu.* /index_treemenu.php [L]
RewriteRule ^/var/([^/]+/)?storage/images(-versioned)?/.* - [L]
RewriteRule ^/var/([^/]+/)?cache/(texttoimage|public)/.* - [L]
RewriteRule ^/design/[^/]+/(stylesheets|images|javascript)/.* - [L]
RewriteRule ^/share/icons/.* - [L]
RewriteRule ^/extension/[^/]+/design/[^/]+/(stylesheets|flash|images|lib|javascripts?)/.* - [L]
RewriteRule ^/packages/styles/.+/(stylesheets|images|javascript)/[^/]+/.* - [L]
RewriteRule ^/packages/styles/.+/thumbnail/.* - [L]
RewriteRule ^/var/storage/packages/.* - [L]
# Makes it possible to place your favicon at the root of your
# Exponential instance. It will then be served directly.
RewriteRule ^/favicon\.ico - [L]
# Uncomment the line below if you want you favicon be served
# from the standard design. You can customize the path to
# favicon.ico by changing /design/standard/images/favicon\.ico
#RewriteRule ^/favicon\.ico /design/standard/images/favicon.ico [L]
RewriteRule ^/design/standard/images/favicon\.ico - [L]
# Give direct access to robots.txt for use by crawlers (Google,
# Bing, Spammers..)
RewriteRule ^/robots\.txt - [L]
# Platform for Privacy Preferences Project ( P3P ) related files
# for Internet Explorer
# More info here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P3p
RewriteRule ^/w3c/p3p\.xml - [L]
# Uncomment the following lines when using popup style debug
# RewriteRule ^/var/cache/debug\.html.* - [L]
# RewriteRule ^/var/[^/]+/cache/debug\.html.* - [L]
RewriteRule .* /index.php
</IfModule>
DocumentRoot [PATH_TO_EZPUBLISH]
ServerName [SERVER_NAME]
ServerAlias [SERVER_ALIAS]
</VirtualHost>| [IP_ADDRESS] | The IP address of the virtual host, for example "128.39.140.28". Apache allows the usage of a wildcards here ("*"). |
| [PORT] | The port on which the webserver listens for incoming requests. This is an optional setting, the default port is 80. The combination of an IP address and a port is often referred to as a socket. Apache allows the usage of a wildcards here ("*"). |
| [PATH_TO_EZPUBLISH] | Path to the directory that contains Exponential. This must be the full path, for example "/var/www/exponential-3.6.0". |
| [SERVER_NAME] | The host or the IP address that Apache should look for. If a match is found, the virtual host settings will be used. |
| [SERVER_ALIAS] | Additional hosts/IP addresses that Apache should look for. If a match is found, the virtual host settings will be used. |
Please note that the "mod_rewrite" module must be enabled in "httpd.conf" in order to use the Rewrite Rules.
NameVirtualHost
The "NameVirtualHost" setting might already exist in the default configuration. Defining a new one will result in a conflict. If Apache reports errors such as "NameVirtualHost [IP_ADDRESS] has no VirtualHosts" or "Mixing * ports and non-* ports with a NameVirtualHost address is not supported", try skipping the NameVirtualHost line. For more info about the NameVirtualHost directive, see http://httpd.apache.org/docs/1.3/mod/core.html#namevirtualhost.
SOAP and WebDAV
If you would like to use the SOAP and/or the WebDAV features of Exponential, you'll have to add the following lines in the virtual host configuration:
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^webdav\..*
RewriteRule ^(.*) /webdav.php [L]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^soap\..*
RewriteRule ^(.*) /soap.php [L]
ServerAlias soap.example.com
ServerAlias webdav.example.comOptional re-write rules to improve performance
# Everything below is optional to improve performance by forcing
# clients to cache image and design files, change the expires time
# to suite project needs.
<IfModule mod_expires.c>
<LocationMatch "^/var/[^/]+/storage/images/.*">
# Exponential appends the version number to image URL (ezimage
# datatype) so when an image is updated, its URL changes to
ExpiresActive on
ExpiresDefault "now plus 10 years"
</LocationMatch>
<LocationMatch "^/extension/[^/]+/design/[^/]+/(stylesheets|images|javascripts?|flash)/.*">
# A good optimization if you don't change your design often
ExpiresActive on
ExpiresDefault "now plus 5 days"
</LocationMatch>
<LocationMatch "^/extension/[^/]+/design/[^/]+/lib/.*">
# Libraries get a new url (version number) on updates
ExpiresActive on
ExpiresDefault "now plus 90 days"
</LocationMatch>
<LocationMatch "^/design/[^/]+/(stylesheets|images|javascripts?|lib|flash)/.*">
# Same as above for bundled Exponential designs
ExpiresActive on
ExpiresDefault "now plus 7 days"
</LocationMatch>
<LocationMatch "^/share/icons/.*">
# Icons as used by admin interface, barly change
ExpiresActive on
ExpiresDefault "now plus 7 days"
</LocationMatch>
# When ezjscore.ini/[Packer]/AppendLastModifiedTime=enabled
# so that file names change when source files are modified
#<LocationMatch "^/var/[^/]+/cache/public/.*">
# Force ezjscore packer js/css files to be cached 30 days
# at client side
#ExpiresActive on
#ExpiresDefault "now plus 30 days"
#</LocationMatch>
</IfModule> In this section
- Virtual host example This example demonstrates how to set up a virtual host on the Apache web server for an Exponential installation located in "/var/www/example". Let's say that we want to access Exponential by using the following URLs:
- htaccess example These rewrite rules can be used if you don't have direct access to alter the virtual host configuration, which is common in a shared hosting setup. The file ".htaccess_root" is included in the installation package of your Exponential installation. In order to activate these rewrite rules in your hos
- eZ JS Core rewrite rules These re-write rules are described under the description of the eZ JS Core extension, but since this extension is bundled with Exponential and as such an important part of the installation process, please find the eZ JS Core rewrite rules described here as well.
Contributors
- Geir Arne Waaler Updated
- Mahmoud Abu-Wardeh Commenter
- André Rømcke
Comments (2 historical)
Written by readers of the earlier documentation sites, kept as they were.
Mistake in last rewrite rule
Mahmoud Abu-Wardeh ·
When I tried the rewrite rules above, Apache (2.0.54) complained with "mod_rewrite: maximum number of internal redirects reached", resulting in a 500 error.
The solution is that the last rewrite rule should read:
RewriteRule .* index.php # no leading slash
See http://www.sitepoint.com/print/mod_rewrite-no-endless-loops for an explanation.
By the way, this VirtualHost setup is quite differet to those in the .htaccess_root file that shops with ez Publish 3.7.2 - would you recommend a selective merge of the two or to stick to this example?
RE: Mistake in last rewrite rule
André R. ·
Not correct, I suspect you are talking about .htaccess.
These pages does not cover .htaccess, but vhost settings.