Configuring Ruby On Rails App in a subdirectory under Apache - ruby-on-rails

Question

I've got apache2.2 on windows. I'm trying to serve both subversion (/svn) and redmine (/redmine). I have svn running fine with this config:
<Location /svn>
DAV svn
SVNParentPath C:/svn_repository
...
</Location>
This is working great--my svn users can hit http://mybox/svn just fine.
Now I want to add another directory for a rails app (RedMine):
I followed the advice in this question to setup a mongrel server and have apache proxy clients through to it. It works fine if I make it the root--but I'm having trouble making it in a subdirectory:
<Location /redmine>
ProxyPass http://localhost:3000/
ProxyPassReverse http://localhost:3000/
</Location>
Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Here's what I had to change:
I removed the trailing slash:
<Location /redmine>
ProxyPass http://localhost:3000
ProxyPassReverse http://localhost:3000/
</Location>
And in my rails app:
# added to end of file C:\redmine\config\environment.rb
ActionController::AbstractRequest.relative_url_root = "/redmine"
Now it's working!
I wasn't completely happy with this approach--I ran into some redirect issues. This is another attempt which seems to be working well so far.
Fast CGI and Fast CGI without VirtualHosts
Tuning Fast CGI
This second approach seems better.
UPDATE:
As noted in the comments, for more recent apps running on Rails 2.3.2+, use this instead:
config.action_controller.relative_url_root = '/redmine'
I put it in the new additional_environment.rb file.

Answer 2

In case you still wish to use Mongrel + Apache using a reverse proxy here is how I solved the same issue on our system (Win2k3, Apache 2.2, trunk of Redmine). The secret is to install your mongrel service using --prefix /redmine which tells it to serve it from http://localhost:port/redmine
In Apache httpd.conf (or suitable include file):
LoadModule proxy_module modules/mod_proxy.so
LoadModule proxy_http_module modules/mod_proxy_http.so
<IfModule mod_proxy.c>
ProxyRequests Off
#No need to forward on static content - let apache do it faster
ProxyPass /redmine/images !
ProxyPass /redmine/stylesheets !
ProxyPass /redmine/javascript !
# Remove the following entry on public sites as this is insecure
ProxyPass /redmine/plugin_assets !
ProxyPass /redmine/help !
ProxyPass /redmine http://localhost:4000/redmine
ProxyPassReverse /redmine http://localhost:4000/redmine
ProxyPreserveHost On
#continue with other static files that should be served by apache
Alias /redmine/images C:/Repositories/redmine/public/images/
Alias /redmine/stylesheets C:/Repositories/redmine/public/stylesheets/
Alias /redmine/javascript C:/Repositories/redmine/public/javascript/
# Remove the following on public sites as this is insecure
Alias /redmine/plugin_assets C:/Repositories/redmine/public/plugin_assets/
Alias /redmine/help C:/Repositories/redmine/public/help/
</IfModule>
# Make sure apache can see public and all subfolders - not suitable for public sites
<Directory "C:/Repositories/redmine/public/">
Allow from all
Order allow,deny
</Directory>
Mongrel is installed as such:
mongrel_rails service::install --prefix /redmine -N redmine_prod -p 4000 -e production -c C:\Repositories\redmine
Hope that helps someone. Initially, I tried setting up Apache + fastcgi etc but I lost more precious hair - it's not Windows friendly.
P.s. I found this PDF a very useful referene: http://www.napcsweb.com/howto/rails/deployment/RailsWithApacheAndMongrel.pdf
/Damien

Answer 3

Passenger (http://modrails.com) is a better alternative to fastcgi because it's very easy to configure I would recommend using this for hosting your rails apps using a similar configuration to what you have now

Answer 4

I agree with Radar. Passenger is really easy to set up, lets Rails apps share memory, removes the burden of managing a cluster of mongrels and requires virtually no configuration. All you need are a special 'config.ru' file with a RackUp config and a DocumentRoot pointing to RAILS_ROOT/public set in Apache.