New env variable ILIAS_HTTP_PATH can override ilias path

[l-4-l]

As a Sysadmin I want to create Ilias instance under https://MYHOSTNAME/ilias/.

I am using Traefik as a reverse-proxy, it means that:

• I route all incoming requests to MYHOSTNAME/ilias/ directly to Ilias-instance and I can strip path-postfix (/ilias). (My ilias-instance runs as docker container in a docker network)

Current situation

• My ilias instance accepts the original request but most of response-redirects which it sends, it's doing to https://MYHOSTNAME/.
• Example:

1. In user-browser (user is not logged in), first request to https://MYHOSTNAME/ilias/ is accepted by Traefik because it has path /ilias
2. Traefik transforms request to http://INTERNAL-ILIAS-IP/
3. Ilias on INTERNAL-ILIAS-IP processes it and sends a response: HTTP 302 REDIRECT to https://MYHOSTNAME/login.php?...

Should be

• Ilias response should be HTTP 302 REDIRECT to https://MYHOSTNAME/ilias/login.php?....

Tech description of the problem in the code

• Ilias can correctly guess the hostname, but fails at guessing its own path. It always "thinks" that his path is /.

How it can be solved without coding

• Only if you have a reverse proxy which can rewrite redirect responses. Then proxy can rewrite (edit) response HTTP 302 REDIRECT to https://MYHOSTNAME/login.php to HTTP 302 REDIRECT to https://MYHOSTNAME/ilias/login.php. Currently Traefik cannot do it. Many popular reverse-proxies cannot do it.

How other apps are doing it and how I solved it here

• I provide an additional env variable ILIAS_HTTP_PATH with "external" URL (including HTTP/HTTPS, domain name and path of the app in "external internet").
• if this env variable is not set, then behaviour is the same as before
• if it's set, then Ilias just picks it and not trying to guess ILIAS_HTTP_PATH.

[JohnnySepp]

Will this be merged in ilias 8 as well?

[JohnnySepp]

scheduled for ILIAS JF at 31.10.2022

[klees]

Hi @l-4-l,

this question might be super stupid, but why can't you just set the configuration variable http.path? AFAIK this is doing exactly what you are looking to do.

Best regards!

[landesportal-orca]

Hi @klees , Thank your for suggestion, the documentation in the mentioned file was not easy to find.

TL;DR: No, using http_path from ini-file is not the same as using ILIAS_HTTP_PATH. Using ILIAS_HTTP_PATH as in my code is better and gives global effect.

Longread:

I made a quick code analysis and found that the variable https_path from file ilias.ini.php contains an internal Http Path which is used only in functionalities:

• "send email",
• "soap client" and
• "cron manager". ("internal" here means that it's not considering that host URL can be behind a proxy. As a result all 3 functionalities can possibly fail. I haven't tested them. ILIAS_HTTP_PATH is an URL of the external proxy, it's usually guessed from HTTP-requests or something, my code makes it configurable instead guessing)

In my installation the http_path contains an HTTP URL for a docker container (http://$CONTAINER_ID/). I am sure that in a normal workflow this URL is not used (except from the mentioned functionalities).

The PHP variable ILIAS_HTTP_PATH is used anywhere else (except mentioned functionalities) and what's most important it's used in building external redirects.

I suppose that it is inconsistency in the code which is not really important, but changing http_path will not have any effect on a (for example) login process, unlike with ILIAS_HTTP_PATH. I think both of them finally should be controlled from a single variable. I see exactly one attempt to do it in class.ilCronManager.php:

 if (!defined("ILIAS_HTTP_PATH")) {
   define("ILIAS_HTTP_PATH", ilUtil::_getHttpPath()); // _getHttpPath is a method that reads http_path from ini-file
 }

this question might be super stupid, but why can't you just set the configuration variable http.path? AFAIK this is doing exactly what you are looking to do.

Best regards!

[klees]

Hi @pascalseeland

As Technical Board, we regularly check for pull requests that have been open for a long time. Any Updates on this? Note, that you can also close this, if you are not able or if you not have the ressources to look into it in detail.

Best regards!

[kergomard]

Hi @pascalseeland

As Technical Board, we regularly check for pull requests that have been open for a long time. Any Updates on this? Note, that you can also close this, if you are not able or if you not have the resources to look into it in detail.

Best regards! @kergomard