How to Configure Apache as a Reverse Proxy with mod_proxy

Short summary

A practical guide to configuring Apache as a production-grade reverse proxy using mod_proxy, covering connection pooling, timeout tuning, header forwarding, WebSocket proxying, and load balancing with failover. It warns against common pitfalls like leaving ProxyRequests On (creating an open relay), mismatched trailing slashes, and confusing Timeout vs ProxyTimeout directives. The article targets SREs and sysadmins who need resilient proxy architectures beyond naive ProxyPass setups.

• •Enable core modules and disable forward proxying to prevent open relay abuse
• •Configure connection pooling, timeout tuning, and header forwarding for production resilience
• •Use mod_proxy_balancer for load balancing with failover and handle WebSockets with anti-idle timeouts

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