From: Luca Toscano
<ProxyMatch>
containers apply enclosed configuration directives only
to sites accessed through mod_proxy
's proxy server
-that match the specified URL. For example, the following configuration
-will prevent the proxy server from being used to access the
-www.example.com
website.
+that match the specified URL. For example, the following configuration
+will allow only a subset of clients to access the
+www.example.com
website using the proxy server:
<Proxy "http://www.example.com/*"> - Require all granted + Require host yournetwork.example.com </Proxy>@@ -452,14 +452,7 @@ are interpreted, it is important to understand how this works. container takes the place of the
<Directory>
container in the processing
order.
- Later sections override earlier ones, however each module is responsible - for interpreting what form this override takes. A later configuration section - with directives from a given module might cause a conceptual "merge" of some - directives, all directives, or a complete replacement of the modules - configuration with the module defaults and directives explicitly listed in - the later context.
- -<Location>
/<LocationMatch>
sequence performed just before the name translation phase
@@ -467,9 +460,50 @@ are interpreted, it is important to understand how this works.
are used to map URLs to filenames). The results of this
sequence are completely thrown away after the translation has
completed.
-One question that often arises after reading how configuration sections are
+ merged is related to how and when directives of specific modules like mod_rewrite
+ are processed. The answer is not trivial and needs a bit of background.
+ Each httpd module manages its own configuration, and each of its directives in httpd.conf specify one piece
+ of configuration in a particular context. httpd does not execute a command as it is read.
At runtime, the core of httpd iterates over the defined configuration sections in the order + described above to determine which ones apply to the current request. When the first section matches, + it is considered the current configuration for this request. If a subsequent section matches too, + then each module with a directive in either of the sections is given a chance to merge its configuration between the two sections. The result is a third configuration, and the process goes on until all the configuration sections + are evaluated.
+After the above step, the "real" processing of the HTTP request begins: each module has a chance to run + and perform whatever tasks they like. They can retrieve their own final merged configuration from the core + of the httpd to determine how they should act.
+An example can help to visualize the whole process. The following configuration uses the
+ Header
directive of mod_headers
to set
+ a specific HTTP header. What value will httpd set in the CustomHeaderName
header for a request to
+ /example/index.html
?
+
<Directory "/"> + Header set CustomHeaderName one + <FilesMatch ".*"> + Header set CustomHeaderName three + </FilesMatch> +</Directory> -+ +Some Examples
+<Directory "/example"> + Header set CustomHeaderName two +</Directory>
Directory
"/" matches and an initial configuration to set the CustomHeaderName
header with the value one
is created.Directory
"/example" matches, and since mod_headers
specifies in its code to override in case of a merge, a new configuration is created to set the CustomHeaderName
header with the value two
.FilesMatch
".*" matches and another merge opportunity arises, causing the CustomHeaderName
header to be set with the value three
.mod_headers
will be called and it will receive the configuration to set the CustomHeaderName
header with the value three
. mod_headers
normally uses this configuration to perfom its job, namely setting the foo header. This does not mean that a module can't perform a more complex action like discarding directives because not needed or deprecated, etc..This is true for .htaccess too since they have the same priority as Directory
in the merge order. The important concept to understand is that configuration sections like Directory
and FilesMatch
are not comparable to module specific directives like Header
or RewriteRule
because they operate on different levels.
+
Below is an artificial example to show the order of merging. Assuming they all apply to the request, the directives in @@ -499,6 +533,7 @@ E.
</Directory> +For a more concrete example, consider the following. Regardless of
any access restrictions placed in <Directory>
sections, the <Location>
section will be
evaluated last and will allow unrestricted access to the server. In