When configuring Apache as a reverse proxy to localhost services, developers often encounter the frustrating "proxy: pass request body failed" error. This typically occurs when Apache cannot properly forward HTTP request bodies to the backend service.

The original configuration shows several potential issues:

<VirtualHost *:80>
  ServerName xxxxx.domain.tdl
  SSLProxyEngine On
  SSLProxyCheckPeerCN on
  ProxyPass / https://localhost:1234
  ProxyPassReverse / https://localhost:1234
</VirtualHost>

The configuration needs these critical additions:

# Required modules must be loaded
LoadModule proxy_module modules/mod_proxy.so
LoadModule proxy_http_module modules/mod_proxy_http.so
LoadModule proxy_connect_module modules/mod_proxy_connect.so

# Timeout settings to prevent premature failures
ProxyTimeout 300
Timeout 300

# Keepalive settings
KeepAlive On
MaxKeepAliveRequests 100
KeepAliveTimeout 15

Here's a tested solution that resolves the body forwarding issue:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName proxy.example.com
    
    # Core proxy settings
    ProxyRequests Off
    ProxyPreserveHost On
    ProxyVia On
    
    # Timeout configurations
    ProxyTimeout 300
    Timeout 300
    
    # SSL settings when proxying HTTPS
    SSLProxyEngine On
    SSLProxyVerify none
    SSLProxyCheckPeerCN off
    SSLProxyCheckPeerName off
    SSLProxyCheckPeerExpire off
    
    # Proxy mappings with proper scheme handling
    ProxyPass / http://localhost:1234/ connectiontimeout=300 timeout=300
    ProxyPassReverse / http://localhost:1234/
    
    # Request body handling directives
    SetEnv proxy-nokeepalive 1
    SetEnv force-proxy-request-1.0 1
</VirtualHost>

If the problem persists, check these aspects:

# Verify backend service is running
curl -v http://localhost:1234

# Check Apache error logs
tail -f /var/log/apache2/error.log

# Test request forwarding
curl -X POST -d "test=body" http://proxy.example.com

For complex cases, consider these additional measures:

• Verify SELinux/apparmor permissions
• Check for conflicting firewalls (iptables/ufw)
• Test with different request body sizes
• Inspect network connectivity between Apache and backend

html

When configuring reverse proxy with Apache's ProxyPass, many developers encounter the frustrating "proxy: pass request body failed" error. Let's examine a typical scenario where this occurs:

<VirtualHost *:80>
  ServerName xxxxx.domain.tdl
  SSLProxyEngine On
  SSLProxyCheckPeerCN on
  ProxyPass / https://localhost:1234
  ProxyPassReverse / https://localhost:1234
</VirtualHost>

The error message reveals multiple potential issues:

• Connection refused by backend server (localhost:1234)
• SSL/TLS handshake failure
• Request body size limitations
• IPv6 vs IPv4 addressing conflicts

First, verify the backend service is running:

curl -v http://localhost:1234
netstat -tulnp | grep 1234

Here's a proven setup that handles request bodies properly:

<VirtualHost *:80>
  ServerName api.example.com
  
  # Timeout and buffer settings
  ProxyTimeout 300
  ProxyIOBufferSize 8192
  
  # Important for request body handling
  SetEnv force-proxy-request-1.0 1
  SetEnv proxy-nokeepalive 1
  
  # SSL configuration
  SSLProxyEngine On
  SSLProxyVerify none
  SSLProxyCheckPeerCN off
  SSLProxyCheckPeerName off
  
  # Proxy settings
  ProxyRequests Off
  ProxyPreserveHost On
  ProxyPass / http://localhost:1234/ retry=5 timeout=30
  ProxyPassReverse / http://localhost:1234/
  
  # Logging
  ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/api_error.log
  CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/api_access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

These parameters are critical for proper request body handling:

# Adjust based on your expected payload size
LimitRequestBody 1073741824

# For large file uploads
ProxyReceiveBufferSize 16384

If using HTTPS backend, add these diagnostic steps:

openssl s_client -connect localhost:1234 -showcerts
apachectl -t -D DUMP_VHOSTS

For Node.js/Python backends, consider adding these headers:

# Nginx equivalent for comparison
proxy_set_header Connection "";
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;

Remember to test configuration changes with apachectl configtest before restarting.