Is there a simple webserver I can use for only redirecting traffic to another domain

Shaggie

12/26/22, 1:00 AM

I want to keep the Ubuntu server as small and simple as possible, however I am getting some http and https traffic to it that should actually be going to a different site. That server hosts other non-http related tasks and I don't want to setup a full webserver there. I would like to permanently redirect the web traffic to the correct web server that hosts our website, but I would prefer to not install a full fledged Web server. I realize that I will likely need something that handles certificates to be able to redirect https traffic.

I acknowledge that there may not be a small simple way to do this other than installing and configuring a full webserver, but I thought I would ask. I thought and hoped that this could be beneficial to the community as a whole, or at least for those less familiar with Ubuntu and the available applications such as myself.

Any suggestions would be appreciated, and so would any info on how to setup that up.

Thank you

0 + 8

server

webserver

muru

12/26/22, 1:16 AM

Just use nginx. I don't see what the point is here distinguishing between "simple" and "full"

Shaggie

12/26/22, 4:30 AM

@muru, basically I do not want or need to ever actually serve any webpages and want to keep the server as small/light as possible since it's hosted offsite. I read about both Apache, and nginx webservers, but am not familiar with either of them, and both feel like they are much heavier (do way more) than what I require. I tried to use google to find something simple to meet my needs. Usually my google-fu is pretty strong, but this time it failed me. In the end, I thought it was better to ask the community for suggestions, especially since they are more familiar with Ubuntu than I.

Ray

12/26/22, 8:49 AM

Sounds like you're trying to do something similar to [this](https://askubuntu.com/questions/708458/configure-iptables-to-redirect-traffic-to-a-specific-ip-address) post. Personally, I don't know how to do it or even if it's a good idea. But you could look around this site for "iptables" for rerouting http traffic. Seems like you end up with a simpler method which ends up being hard to configure and manage. There's a trade-off to doing this instead of using `nginx`, etc.

Shaggie

12/26/22, 2:50 PM

@Ray I think I saw that, but I didn't want to hide the redirect from the end user and therefore cause all of that traffic to go through this server. Besides the actual web server I want to redirect to is not hidden behind this Ubuntu server. The Ubuntu server is actually hosted offsite, while the webserver is hosted by us in house. Also, I thought it may be possible that others had this same question and that an explicit response on the topic would help everyone. I do appreciate the suggestion.

Artur Meinild

12/26/22, 2:54 PM

I use [Nginx Proxy Manager](https://nginxproxymanager.com/).

muru

12/26/22, 3:06 PM

Out of curiosity, why do you need a redirect? Can't you point the hostname that's getting redirected to your web server? After all, the way you write this, it seems there's nothing to be served from the Ubuntu server .

Shaggie

12/26/22, 3:34 PM

@muru. It has other services that was decided that we can't host in house that are accessible from other ports.

Ray

12/26/22, 5:05 PM

Oh, ok. Ask whatever questions you want here, but I wouldn't worry about that last part. I mean the "it might help other people too". It might...but honestly, other people can ask their own question! Everyone has slightly different needs and you should ask what will help you instead of over-thinking it for other people.

Elon Musk

I sit in a Tesla and translated this thread with Ai:

EN: Is there a simple webserver I can use for only redirecting traffic to another domain

TH: มีเว็บเซิร์ฟเวอร์ธรรมดาที่ฉันสามารถใช้สำหรับการเปลี่ยนเส้นทางการรับส่งข้อมูลไปยังโดเมนอื่นเท่านั้นหรือไม่

RO: Există un server web simplu pe care să-l pot folosi doar pentru a redirecționa traficul către alt domeniu

RU: Есть ли простой веб-сервер, который я могу использовать только для перенаправления трафика на другой домен?

VI: Có máy chủ web đơn giản nào tôi có thể sử dụng để chỉ chuyển hướng lưu lượng truy cập sang miền khác không

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