Add Apache Modules

Table of Contents

Create the environment
Build your Apache module
Upload and configure your module
Check the result

To meet all of the requirements of your application, you might need to add some custom Apache modules. Some of these are not listed among the Apache modules installed in the CirrusGrid Cloud by default. You can enable your own Apache modules in the CirrusGrid Cloud environment by following the instructions below:

Create the environment #

1. Log into the CirrusGrid Manager.

2. Click on Create environment at the top left corner of the dashboard.

3. In the opened wizard, navigate to the PHP tab, select the Apache application server and specify the number of resources your application needs. After that, enter the name for your environment (e.g. apachemodules) and click the Create button.

4. In several seconds your environment will appear on the CirrusGrid dashboard.

Build your Apache module #

1. Download Apache httpd from apxs with the same version as your Apache server. In our case we have Apache 2.2.15, so we will download and install httpd 2.2.15.

2. Download the source of the needed module in the Apache modules list. As an example we will use a funny mod_pony Apache module.

3. Compile your Apache module.

Here is how we’ve compiled our mod_pony module:

apxs -i -a -c mod_pony.c 
/usr/lib64/apr-1/build/libtool --silent --mode=compile gcc -prefer-pic -O2 -g -pipe -Wall -Wp,-D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2 -fexceptions -fstack-protector --param=ssp-buffer-size=4 -m64 -mtune=generic -Wformat-security -fno-strict-aliasing  -DLINUX=2 -D_REENTRANT -D_GNU_SOURCE -pthread -I/usr/include/httpd  -I/usr/include/apr-1   -I/usr/include/apr-1   -c -o mod_pony.lo mod_pony.c && touch mod_pony.slo
/usr/lib64/apr-1/build/libtool --silent --mode=link gcc -o mod_pony.la  -rpath /usr/lib64/httpd/modules -module -avoid-version    mod_pony.lo
/usr/lib64/httpd/build/instdso.sh SH_LIBTOOL='/usr/lib64/apr-1/build/libtool' mod_pony.la /usr/lib64/httpd/modules
/usr/lib64/apr-1/build/libtool --mode=install cp mod_pony.la /usr/lib64/httpd/modules/
libtool: install: cp .libs/mod_pony.so /usr/lib64/httpd/modules/mod_pony.so
libtool: install: cp .libs/mod_pony.lai /usr/lib64/httpd/modules/mod_pony.la
libtool: install: cp .libs/mod_pony.a /usr/lib64/httpd/modules/mod_pony.a
libtool: install: chmod 644 /usr/lib64/httpd/modules/mod_pony.a
libtool: install: ranlib /usr/lib64/httpd/modules/mod_pony.a
libtool: finish: PATH="/usr/local/sbin:/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin" ldconfig -n /usr/lib64/httpd/modules
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Libraries have been installed in:
   /usr/lib64/httpd/modules

If you ever happen to want to link against installed libraries
in a given directory, LIBDIR, you must either use libtool, and
specify the full pathname of the library, or use the `-LLIBDIR'
flag during linking and do at least one of the following:
   - add LIBDIR to the `LD_LIBRARY_PATH' environment variable
     during execution
   - add LIBDIR to the `LD_RUN_PATH' environment variable
     during linking
   - use the `-Wl,-rpath -Wl,LIBDIR' linker flag
   - have your system administrator add LIBDIR to `/etc/ld.so.conf'

See any operating system documentation about shared libraries for
more information, such as the ld(1) and ld.so(8) manual pages.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
chmod 755 /usr/lib64/httpd/modules/mod_pony.so
[activating module `pony' in /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf]

4. As a result you will get an .so file of your Apache module. We have a mod_pony.so file (/usr/lib64/httpd/modules/mod_pony.so).

Upload and configure your module #

1. Navigate to your CirrusGrid environment and click Config for your Apache server.

2. Upload mod_pony.so file to the /usr/lib64/php/modules folder.

3. Go to the /etc/httpd/conf folder and edit the httpd.conf file by adding the LoadModule string in the following format:

LoadModule {module-name}_module /usr/lib64/php/modules/{file-name}.so

Example: LoadModule pony_module /usr/lib64/php/modules/mod_pony.so

Save the changes.

4. Change the settings required for your Apache module.

For example, for further configuration of the mod_pony module we need:

to navigate to the webroot > ROOT folder and create a .htaccess file;
to add the following strings to the .htaccess file:
<Files pony>
SetHandler pony
</Files>

Save the changes.