Configuring GraphDB behind an Nginx reverse proxy

27 Sep 2020 in Programming

GraphDB is a solid semantic graph database that includes both free and paid versions. The free version has a lot of capability and is easy to use.

In this post, we look at how to configure GraphDB behind an nginx reverse proxy so that it can live at a specific URL.

By default, GraphDB runs at:

http://localhost:7200

With the proxy settings, we’ll set it to run at:

http://localhost:8080/graphdb/

Configuring Nginx

First, install nginx for your platform, and run it. Test your nginx installation by visiting:

http://localhost:8080/

You should see a test page that says “Welcome to Nginx!”

Next, open the nginx.conf and modify the default config to include a location for GraphDB:

    server {
        listen       8080;
        server_name  localhost;

        #charset koi8-r;

        #access_log  logs/host.access.log  main;

        location / {
            root   html;
            index  index.html index.htm;
        }

        location /graphdb/ {
                proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:7200/;
        }

        #error_page  404              /404.html;

NOTE: Be sure to add that trailing slash after the proxy_pass address. In my first attempt, I left this off and it did not work. After adding the trailing slash, I was in business.

Finally tell nginx to reload the config. On MacOS, you do this with:

nginx -s reload

Configuring GraphDB

If you try to load GraphDB right away by visiting

http://localhost:8080/graphdb

Then you’ll see the page partially load, but none of the assets will load. We need to tell GraphDB that it’s available under a different URL than it expects, so that it will load the assets correctly.

Use the guide Configuring GraphDB to learn how to bring up the settings window.

Once there, add an entry with:

• property name: graphdb.workbench.external-url
• property value: http://localhost:8080/graphdb

Then hit Save and restart.

Wait about a minute for everything to spin up again, and access your relocated GraphDB at its new home:

http://localhost:8080/graphdb/

References

1. nginx reverse proxy: This tells us how to add a new location to the nginx config
2. controlling nginx: This tells us how to start, stop, and reload nginx
3. Stack Overflow Run GraphDB behind Apache Proxy: This breadcrumb led me to the right GraphDB configuration property to change
4. GraphDB list of configuration properties: The full list of configuration properties for GraphDB
5. Configuring GraphDB: Shows how to access the dialog box you can use to add properties.