add varnish docs

basic configuration files and notes about running varnish in front of writefreely
2024-11-14 23:11:03 +00:00 · 2019-09-11 09:55:45 -07:00 · 2019-09-11 09:55:45 -07:00 · 398112df21
commit 398112df21
parent d119237a4d
1 changed files with 119 additions and 0 deletions
--- a/admin/varnish.md
+++ b/admin/varnish.md
@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+# Varnish Cache
+
+WriteFreely includes [Cache-Control](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Headers/Cache-Control) headers on a few important [ActivityPub](https://activitypub.rocks/) endpoints, these do nothing on their own but with a Cache like [Varnish](https://www.varnish-software.com) they reduce the load on your backend services, in particular database requests.
+
+> This document describes a basic configuration for using Varnish with WriteFreely.
+
+## Security
+
+Varnish only supports HTTP, no SSL. So if you want your site served securely over HTTPS you need to put something in front of Varnish, like [nginx](https://www.nginx.com/).
+
+You could also [use Apache2](https://www.varnish-software.com/wiki/content/tutorials/varnish/varnish_ubuntu.html#step-3-configure-apache2-to-work-with-varnish), but this guide will demonstrate nginx.
+
+Follow the [configuration and installation guide](https://www.varnish-software.com/wiki/content/tutorials/varnish/varnish_ubuntu.html) for Varnish. You will need to run Varnish on a port other than `80`, nginx will handle those requests. This guide uses `8888`.
+
+Modify the port in these files:
+- `/etc/default/varnish`
+```
+DAEMON_OPTS="-a :8888 \
+             -T localhost:6082 \
+             -f /etc/varnish/default.vcl \
+             -S /etc/varnish/secret \
+             -s malloc,256m"
+```
+- `/etc/systemd/system/varnish.service`
+```
+ExecStart=/usr/sbin/varnishd -j unix,user=vcache -F -a :8888 -T localhost:6082 -f /etc/varnish/default.vcl -S /etc/varnish/secret -s malloc,256m
+```
+
+### nginx
+
+nginx site configuration is the same as with [writefreely.org/start](https://writefreely.org/start) with the exception of the `location /` block for SSL:
+
+```
+server {
+      listen 443 ssl; 
+      listen [::]:443 ssl; 
+...
+
+location / {
+        proxy_set_header Host $host;
+        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP  $remote_addr;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto https;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Port 443;
+        proxy_pass http://0.0.0.0:8888;
+        proxy_redirect off;
+}
+
+...
+```
+
+The `proxy_pass` directive should point at your Varnish service. You can double check what IP/port it is running on with `netstat -plntu` on linux.
+
+```
+Proto Recv-Q Send-Q Local Address           Foreign Address         State       PID/Program name
+tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:8888            0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      14867/varnishd      
+tcp        0      0 127.0.0.1:6082          0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      14867/varnishd      
+tcp6       0      0 :::8888                 :::*                    LISTEN      14867/varnishd
+```
+
+The service on `tcp:6082` is the localhost only port.
+
+## /etc/varnish/default.vcl
+
+The following is a modified version of the default vcl configuration.
+
+```
+vcl 4.0;
+
+import std;
+
+# the default backend points at the content server
+# point this at the IP and port of your WriteFreely service
+backend default {
+    .host = "127.0.0.1";
+    .port = "8084";
+}
+
+sub vcl_recv {
+  # this check passes request for anything OTHER than activity+json straight to the backend
+  if (! req.http.Accept ~ "application\/activity\+json") {
+    return(pass);
+  }
+  # we don't want to take requests from external IPs or port 80 directly with Varnish
+  # the hostname in the below regex should match YOUR instance domain
+  if ((client.ip != "127.0.0.1" && std.port(server.ip) == 80) &&
+      (req.http.host ~ "^(?i)(www\.)?write.as")) {
+    set req.http.x-redir = "https://" + req.http.host + req.url;
+    return (synth(750, ""));
+  }
+}
+
+sub vcl_synth {
+  if (resp.status == 750) {
+    // Redirect to HTTPS with 301 status.
+    set resp.status = 301;
+    set resp.http.Location = req.http.x-redir;
+    return(deliver);
+  }
+}
+
+sub vcl_deliver { 
+    # Happens when we have all the pieces we need, and are about to send the 
+    # response to the client. 
+    # 
+    # You can do accounting or modifying the final object here. 
+}
+```
+
+## Notes
+
+The current `Cache-Control` header in WriteFreely is set to a `60s` TTL. This may change or become configurable in the future.
+
+The endpoints that provide caching are:
+
+- Collections fetched via canonical URL with `activity+json` header (e.g. /matt/)
+- Collections fetched via API (e.g. /api/collections/matt)
+- Post fetched via canonical URL with `activity+json` header (e.g. /matt/my-post)
+- Post fetched via API (e.g. /api/collections/matt/posts/123someid456)