How to setup Apache as a reverse Proxy for Alfresco (with SSL Encryption)?

This article describes steps to install and configure Apache proxy with SSL for an Alfresco instance, on an Ubuntu 18 (or later) server.

1. Install Apache:

sudo apt install apache2

2. Enable required modules

sudo a2enmod ssl
sudo a2enmod headers
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo a2enmod proxy
sudo a2enmod proxy_http
sudo a2enmod proxy_ajp

3. Add below text to /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/alfresco.conf, after replacing “dummy.instance.com” with your instance URL

<VirtualHost *:80>
	ServerName dummy.instance.com
	Redirect permanent / https://dummy.instance.com/
	RewriteEngine On
	RewriteCond %{HTTPS} !=on
	RewriteRule ^/?(.*) https://%{SERVER_NAME}/$1 [NC,R=301,L]
	ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/dummy-instance-error_log.log
	CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/dummy-instance-access_log.log common
</VirtualHost>

4. Add below text to /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/alfresco-ssl.conf, after replacing “dummy.instance.com” with your instance name

<VirtualHost *:443>
	ServerName dummy.instance.com:443
	ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/ssl_customer_name_error.log
	TransferLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/ssl_customer_name_access.log
	LogLevel warn
	SSLEngine on
	SSLProtocol all -SSLv2 -SSLv3 +TLSv1 +TLSv1.1 +TLSv1.2

	SSLCipherSuite HIGH:MEDIUM:!aNULL:!MD5
	SSLCertificateFile /etc/apache2/certs/SSL_CERT.crt
	SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/apache2/certs/SSL_CERT_KEY.key
	SSLCertificateChainFile /etc/apache2/certs/SSL_CERT_CABUNDLE.ca-bundle
	CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/ssl_dummy_request_log.log "%t %h %{SSL_PROTOCOL}x %{SSL_CIPHER}x \"%r\" %b"
	RedirectMatch ^/$ https://dummy.instance.com/share/
	SSLProxyEngine On
	SSLProxyCheckPeerCN off
	ProxyVia On
	ProxyRequests Off
	ProxyPreserveHost On
	ProxyPass /alfresco ajp://localhost:8009/alfresco
	ProxyPassReverse /alfresco ajp://localhost:8009/alfresco
	ProxyPass /share ajp://localhost:8009/share
	ProxyPassReverse /share ajp://localhost:8009/share
</VirtualHost>

5. Copy SSL Certificate files to /etc/apache2/certs

6. Restart Apache Service

sudo service apache2 restart

All done!