Deploying Connectware Behind a Corporate Proxy

Configure system, Docker, and Connectware proxy settings for deployment behind corporate proxies.

Deploying Connectware in environments where Internet access is controlled via a corporate proxy requires additional configuration. This guide outlines the steps necessary to install and run Connectware in such environments, covering system, Docker, and application-level proxy settings.

Prerequisites

To follow this guide, you will need the following:

• A valid Connectware license.

• Docker and Docker Compose installed on your system.

Proxy Behavior Across Applications

Proxy configuration across applications can vary:

• Some tools recognize http_proxy, https_proxy, and no_proxy (lowercase).

• Others may use HTTP_PROXY, HTTPS_PROXY, and NO_PROXY (uppercase).

• Some software may require both or use custom proxy settings.

General recommendations:

• Set both lowercase and uppercase variants of proxy variables.

• Avoid IP addresses unless known to be used directly by the application.

• Hostname resolution may fail under proxy settings unless explicitly configured.

Configuration

Verifying Host and Proxy Server Reachability

To confirm connectivity:

uname -a
ping -c 1 your-proxy-ip

Expected output should confirm that the proxy server is reachable with minimal latency and no packet loss.

System-Wide Proxy Configuration

To apply proxy settings system-wide:

1. Create a script that will contain your proxy settings. The /etc/profile.d directory contains shell scripts that are likely to be executed at launch of your shell.

$ sudo nano /etc/profile.d/proxy.sh

export http_proxy="http://<proxy-ip>:<port>/"
export https_proxy="http://<proxy-ip>:<port>/"
export no_proxy="127.0.0.1,localhost"

export HTTP_PROXY="http://<proxy-ip>:<port>/"
export HTTPS_PROXY="http://<proxy-ip>:<port>/"
export NO_PROXY="127.0.0.1,localhost"

1. Make the script executable:

sudo chmod +x /etc/profile.d/proxy.sh

1. Restart the shell or re-login to apply. You can verify with the following:

$ env | grep -i proxy

Preserving Proxy Settings for Sudo

To retain proxy variables for commands executed with sudo:

1. Edit your configuration for sudo.

sudo nano /etc/sudoers.d/env_keep_proxy

1. Add the following:

Defaults env_keep += "http_proxy https_proxy no_proxy HTTP_PROXY HTTPS_PROXY NO_PROXY"

APT Proxy Configuration

For Debian-based systems, APT requires its own proxy settings. This is not required for running Connectware. However, without it you are not able to install any software using APT.

sudo nano /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/80proxy

Acquire::http::proxy "http://<proxy-ip>:<port>/";
Acquire::https::proxy "http://<proxy-ip>:<port>/";
Acquire::ftp::proxy "http://<proxy-ip>:<port>/";

This allows software installation via APT behind the proxy.

Docker Daemon Proxy Setup

The Docker daemon requires proxy configuration to pull images from the Internet:

1. Create the drop-in directory:

sudo mkdir -p /etc/systemd/system/docker.service.d

1. Create the config file:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/docker.service.d/http-proxy.conf

1. Add the following:

[Service]
Environment="HTTP_PROXY=http://<proxy-ip>:<port>/"
Environment="HTTPS_PROXY=http://<proxy-ip>:<port>/"
Environment="NO_PROXY=localhost,127.0.0.1"

1. Apply the changes and restart:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart docker

1. Verify the configuration:

sudo systemctl show --property=Environment docker

1. Test Docker image pull:

docker pull hello-world

The result should look like this:

Using default tag: latest
latest: Pulling from library/hello-world
2db29710123e: Pull complete
Digest: sha256:10d7d58d5ebd2a652f4d93fdd86da8f265f5318c6a73cc5b6a9798ff6d2b2e67
Status: Downloaded newer image for hello-world:latest
docker.io/library/hello-world:latest

Container-Level Internet Access

Internet access from within containers can be configured globally or per container.

• To define global proxy settings for all containers:

mkdir -p ~/.docker
nano ~/.docker/config.json

Example

{
  "proxies": {
    "default": {
      "httpProxy": "http://<proxy-ip>:<port>/",
      "httpsProxy": "http://<proxy-ip>:<port>/",
      "noProxy": "127.0.0.1,localhost,admin-web-app,auth-server,broker,container-manager,connectware,ingress-controller,postgresql,protocol-mapper,service-manager,system-control-server,workbench"
    }
  }
}

This ensures Connectware containers can communicate with each other without proxy interference.

Configuring the Connectware Environment File

1. Before launching Connectware, set the proxy in the environment configuration file. By default, the environment file is located in your installation directory.

sudo nano /opt/connectware/.env

1. Add the following:

# Proxy Configuration
CYBUS_PROXY=http://<proxy-ip>:<port>/
CYBUS_NO_PROXY=

Make sure the .env file is located in the correct installation directory to take effect.