Configuring an HTTP Server¶
This documentation provides example configurations for NGINX 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.
Warning
The command below can be used to generate a self-signed certificate for testing purposes, however it is strongly recommended to use a certificate from a trusted authority in production.
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.
HTTP Server Installation¶
Any HTTP server of your choosing is supported. For your convenience, setup instructions for NGINX are provided here.
Warning
The following steps must be performed with root permissions.
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:
Configure NGINX¶
Note
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 below.
Once NGINX is installed, copy and paste the following NGINX configuration into /etc/nginx/sites-available/nautobot.conf:
server {
listen 443 ssl http2 default_server;
listen [::]:443 ssl http2 default_server;
server_name _;
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/;
}
# For subdirectory hosting, you'll want to toggle this (e.g. `/nautobot/`).
# Don't forget to set `FORCE_SCRIPT_NAME` in your `nautobot_config.py` to match.
# location /nautobot/ {
location / {
include uwsgi_params;
uwsgi_pass 127.0.0.1:8001;
uwsgi_param Host $host;
uwsgi_param X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
uwsgi_param X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
uwsgi_param X-Forwarded-Proto $http_x_forwarded_proto;
# If you want subdirectory hosting, uncomment this. The path must match
# the path of this location block (e.g. `/nautobot`). For NGINX the path
# MUST NOT end with a trailing "/".
# uwsgi_param SCRIPT_NAME /nautobot;
}
}
server {
# Redirect HTTP traffic to HTTPS
listen 80 default_server;
listen [::]:80 default_server;
server_name _;
return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}
Once NGINX is installed, copy and paste the following NGINX configuration for the Nautobot NGINX site.
server {
listen 443 ssl http2 default_server;
listen [::]:443 ssl http2 default_server;
server_name _;
ssl_certificate /etc/pki/tls/certs/nautobot.crt;
ssl_certificate_key /etc/pki/tls/private/nautobot.key;
client_max_body_size 25m;
location /static/ {
alias /opt/nautobot/static/;
}
# For subdirectory hosting, you'll want to toggle this (e.g. `/nautobot/`).
# Don't forget to set `FORCE_SCRIPT_NAME` in your `nautobot_config.py` to match.
# location /nautobot/ {
location / {
include uwsgi_params;
uwsgi_pass 127.0.0.1:8001;
uwsgi_param Host $host;
uwsgi_param X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
uwsgi_param X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
uwsgi_param X-Forwarded-Proto $http_x_forwarded_proto;
# If you want subdirectory hosting, uncomment this. The path must match
# the path of this location block (e.g. `/nautobot`). For NGINX the path
# MUST NOT end with a trailing "/".
# uwsgi_param SCRIPT_NAME /nautobot;
}
}
server {
# Redirect HTTP traffic to HTTPS
listen 80 default_server;
listen [::]:80 default_server;
server_name _;
return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}
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:
Restart NGINX¶
Finally, restart the nginx service to use the new configuration.
Info
If the restart fails, and you changed the default key location, check to make sure the nautobot.conf file you pasted has the updated key location. For example, CentOS requires keys to be in /etc/pki/tls/ instead of /etc/ssl/.
Confirm Permissions for NAUTOBOT_ROOT¶
Ensure that the NAUTOBOT_ROOT permissions are set to 755.
If permissions need to be changed, as the nautobot user run:
Confirm Connectivity¶
At this point, you should be able to connect to the HTTPS service at the server name or IP address you provided. If you used a self-signed certificate, you will likely need to explicitly allow connectivity in your browser.
Info
Please keep in mind that the configurations provided here are bare minimums required to get Nautobot up and running. You may want to make adjustments to better suit your production environment.
Warning
Certain components of Nautobot (such as the display of rack elevation diagrams) rely on the use of embedded objects. Ensure that your HTTP server configuration does not override the X-Frame-Options response header set by Nautobot.
Troubleshooting¶
Unable to Connect¶
If you are unable to connect to the HTTP server, check that:
- NGINX 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.)
Static Media Failure¶
If you get a Static Media Failure; The following static media file failed to load: css/base.css, verify the permissions on the $NAUTOBOT_ROOT directory are 755.
Example of correct permissions (at the [root@localhost ~]# prompt)
Output of list files
If the permissions are not correct, modify them accordingly.
Example of modifying the permissions:
Output of list files in /opt
At the prompt [nautobot@localhost ~]$ execute:
Then to verify that the user has the permissions to the directory execute at the [nautobot@localhost ~]$ prompt:
Output of list files in /opt
Example output shows that the user and group are both nautobot below:
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 nautobotshould show a status ofactive (running)) - NGINX 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.