Configure HTTP Server¶

This documentation provides example configurations for both NGINX and Apache, though any HTTP server which supports WSGI should be compatible.

Obtain an SSL Certificate¶

To enable HTTPS access to Nautobot, you'll need a valid SSL certificate. You can purchase one from a trusted commercial provider, obtain one for free from Let's Encrypt, or generate your own (although self-signed certificates are generally untrusted). Both the public certificate and private key files need to be installed on your Nautobot server in a secure location that is readable only by the root user.

Two files will be created: the public certificate (nautobot.crt) and the private key (nautobot.key). The certificate is published to the world, whereas the private key must be kept secret at all times.

$ sudo openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:2048 \
  -keyout /etc/ssl/private/nautobot.key \
  -out /etc/ssl/certs/nautobot.crt

HTTP Server Installation¶

Any HTTP server of your choosing is supported. For your convenience, setup guides for the most common options are provided here.

NGINX¶

NGINX is a free, open source, high-performance HTTP server and reverse proxy and is by far the most popular choice.

Install NGINX¶

Begin by installing NGINX:

$ sudo apt install -y nginx

For CentOS or RHEL users¶

Red Hat-based (CentOS & RHEL) systems running NGINX will need to create the directory structure and perform a minor update the default nginx.conf file to get it to read included configurations.

Create the include directories¶

To do this, create the sites-available and sites-enabled directories.

$ sudo mkdir -p /etc/nginx/{sites-available,sites-enabled}

Edit nginx.conf¶

As root, edit file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf. In the http section, add:

    include /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/*.conf;
    server_names_hash_bucket_size 64;

Configure NGINX¶

Once NGINX is installed, copy and paste the following NGINX configuration into /etc/nginx/sites-available/nautobot.conf:

server {
    listen 443 ssl;

    # CHANGE THIS TO YOUR SERVER'S NAME
    server_name nautobot.example.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/ssl/certs/nautobot.crt;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/ssl/private/nautobot.key;

    client_max_body_size 25m;

    location /static/ {
        alias /opt/nautobot/static/;
    }

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8001;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $http_host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

server {
    # Redirect HTTP traffic to HTTPS
    listen 80;
    server_name _;
    return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}

• Be sure to replace nautobot.example.com with the domain name or IP address of your installation. This should match the value configured for ALLOWED_HOSTS in nautobot_config.py.
• If the file location of SSL certificates had to be changed in the Obtain an SSL Certificate step above, then the location will need to be changed in the NGINX configuration you pasted.

Enable Nautobot¶

To enable the Nautobot site, you'll need to delete /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default and create a symbolic link in the sites-enabled directory to the configuration file you just created:

$ sudo rm -f /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default
$ sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/nautobot.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/nautobot.conf

Restart NGINX¶

Finally, restart the nginx service to use the new configuration.

$ sudo systemctl restart nginx

Apache¶

Apache is a tried and true secure, efficient and extensible HTTP server that has been around since 1995.

Begin by installing Apache:

$ sudo apt install -y apache2

Next, copy the default configuration file to /etc/apache2/sites-available/. Be sure to modify the ServerName parameter appropriately.

If the location of SSL certificates had to be changed in Obtain an SSL Certificate step, then the location will need to be changed in the apache.conf file as well.

$ sudo cp /opt/nautobot/contrib/apache.conf /etc/apache2/sites-available/nautobot.conf

Finally, ensure that the required Apache modules are enabled, enable the nautobot site, and reload Apache:

$ sudo a2enmod ssl proxy proxy_http headers
$ sudo a2ensite nautobot
$ sudo systemctl restart apache2

Confirm Connectivity¶

At this point, you should be able to connect to the HTTPS service at the server name or IP address you provided.

Troubleshooting¶

Unable to Connect¶

If you are unable to connect to the HTTP server, check that:

• NGINX/Apache is running and configured to listen on the correct port.
• Access is not being blocked by a firewall somewhere along the path. (Try connecting locally from the server itself.)

502 Bad Gateway¶

If you are able to connect but receive a 502 (bad gateway) error, check the following:

• The uWSGI worker processes are running (systemctl status nautobot should show a status of active (running))
• NGINX/Apache is configured to connect to the port on which uWSGI is listening (default is 8001).
• SELinux may be preventing the reverse proxy connection. You may need to allow HTTP network connections with the command setsebool -P httpd_can_network_connect 1. For further information, view the SELinux troubleshooting guide.