Overview¶
What's Happening to the Requests?
Let's zoom in on Traefik's architecture and talk about the components that enable the routes to be created.
First, when you start Traefik, you define entrypoints (in their most basic forms, they are port numbers). Then, connected to these entrypoints, routers analyze the incoming requests to see if they match a set of rules. If they do, the router might transform the request using pieces of middleware before forwarding them to your services.
Clear Responsibilities¶
- Providers discover the services that live on your infrastructure (their IP, health, ...)
- Entrypoints listen for incoming traffic (ports, ...)
- Routers analyse the requests (host, path, headers, SSL, ...)
- Services forward the request to your services (load balancing, ...)
- Middlewares may update the request or make decisions based on the request (authentication, rate limiting, headers, ...)
Example with a File Provider¶
Below is an example of a full configuration file for the file provider that forwards http://example.com/whoami/
requests to a service reachable on http://private/whoami-service/
.
In the process, Traefik will make sure that the user is authenticated (using the BasicAuth middleware).
Static configuration:
entryPoints:
web:
# Listen on port 8081 for incoming requests
address: :8081
providers:
# Enable the file provider to define routers / middlewares / services in file
file:
directory: /path/to/dynamic/conf
[entryPoints]
[entryPoints.web]
# Listen on port 8081 for incoming requests
address = ":8081"
[providers]
# Enable the file provider to define routers / middlewares / services in file
[providers.file]
directory = "/path/to/dynamic/conf"
# Listen on port 8081 for incoming requests
--entryPoints.web.address=:8081
# Enable the file provider to define routers / middlewares / services in file
--providers.file.directory=/path/to/dynamic/conf
Dynamic configuration:
# http routing section
http:
routers:
# Define a connection between requests and services
to-whoami:
rule: "Host(`example.com`) && PathPrefix(`/whoami/`)"
# If the rule matches, applies the middleware
middlewares:
- test-user
# If the rule matches, forward to the whoami service (declared below)
service: whoami
middlewares:
# Define an authentication mechanism
test-user:
basicAuth:
users:
- test:$apr1$H6uskkkW$IgXLP6ewTrSuBkTrqE8wj/
services:
# Define how to reach an existing service on our infrastructure
whoami:
loadBalancer:
servers:
- url: http://private/whoami-service
# http routing section
[http]
[http.routers]
# Define a connection between requests and services
[http.routers.to-whoami]
rule = "Host(`example.com`) && PathPrefix(`/whoami/`)"
# If the rule matches, applies the middleware
middlewares = ["test-user"]
# If the rule matches, forward to the whoami service (declared below)
service = "whoami"
[http.middlewares]
# Define an authentication mechanism
[http.middlewares.test-user.basicAuth]
users = ["test:$apr1$H6uskkkW$IgXLP6ewTrSuBkTrqE8wj/"]
[http.services]
# Define how to reach an existing service on our infrastructure
[http.services.whoami.loadBalancer]
[[http.services.whoami.loadBalancer.servers]]
url = "http://private/whoami-service"
In this example, we use the file provider. Even if it is one of the least magical way of configuring Traefik, it explicitly describes every available notion.
HTTP / TCP
In this example, we've defined routing rules for http requests only. Traefik also supports TCP requests. To add TCP routers and TCP services, declare them in a TCP section like in the following.
Adding a TCP route for TLS requests on whoami-tcp.example.com
Static Configuration
entryPoints:
web:
# Listen on port 8081 for incoming requests
address: :8081
providers:
# Enable the file provider to define routers / middlewares / services in file
file:
directory: /path/to/dynamic/conf
[entryPoints]
[entryPoints.web]
# Listen on port 8081 for incoming requests
address = ":8081"
[providers]
# Enable the file provider to define routers / middlewares / services in file
[providers.file]
directory = "/path/to/dynamic/conf"
# Listen on port 8081 for incoming requests
--entryPoints.web.address=:8081
# Enable the file provider to define routers / middlewares / services in file
--providers.file.directory=/path/to/dynamic/conf
Dynamic Configuration
# http routing section
http:
routers:
# Define a connection between requests and services
to-whoami:
rule: Host(`example.com`) && PathPrefix(`/whoami/`)
# If the rule matches, applies the middleware
middlewares:
- test-user
# If the rule matches, forward to the whoami service (declared below)
service: whoami
middlewares:
# Define an authentication mechanism
test-user:
basicAuth:
users:
- test:$apr1$H6uskkkW$IgXLP6ewTrSuBkTrqE8wj/
services:
# Define how to reach an existing service on our infrastructure
whoami:
loadBalancer:
servers:
- url: http://private/whoami-service
tcp:
routers:
to-whoami-tcp:
service: whoami-tcp
rule: HostSNI(`whoami-tcp.example.com`)
tls: {}
services:
whoami-tcp:
loadBalancer:
servers:
- address: xx.xx.xx.xx:xx
# http routing section
[http]
[http.routers]
# Define a connection between requests and services
[http.routers.to-whoami]
rule = "Host(`example.com`) && PathPrefix(`/whoami/`)"
# If the rule matches, applies the middleware
middlewares = ["test-user"]
# If the rule matches, forward to the whoami service (declared below)
service = "whoami"
[http.middlewares]
# Define an authentication mechanism
[http.middlewares.test-user.basicAuth]
users = ["test:$apr1$H6uskkkW$IgXLP6ewTrSuBkTrqE8wj/"]
[http.services]
# Define how to reach an existing service on our infrastructure
[http.services.whoami.loadBalancer]
[[http.services.whoami.loadBalancer.servers]]
url = "http://private/whoami-service"
[tcp]
[tcp.routers]
[tcp.routers.to-whoami-tcp]
rule = "HostSNI(`whoami-tcp.example.com`)"
service = "whoami-tcp"
[tcp.routers.to-whoami-tcp.tls]
[tcp.services]
[tcp.services.whoami-tcp.loadBalancer]
[[tcp.services.whoami-tcp.loadBalancer.servers]]
address = "xx.xx.xx.xx:xx"
Transport configuration¶
Most of what happens to the connection between the clients and Traefik, and then between Traefik and the backend servers, is configured through the entrypoints and the routers.
In addition, a few parameters are dedicated to configuring globally
what happens with the connections between Traefik and the backends.
This is done through the serversTransport
and tcpServersTransport
sections of the configuration, which features these options:
HTTP Servers Transports¶
insecureSkipVerify
¶
Optional, Default=false
insecureSkipVerify
disables SSL certificate verification.
## Static configuration
serversTransport:
insecureSkipVerify: true
## Static configuration
[serversTransport]
insecureSkipVerify = true
## Static configuration
--serversTransport.insecureSkipVerify=true
rootCAs
¶
Optional
rootCAs
is the list of certificates (as file paths, or data bytes)
that will be set as Root Certificate Authorities when using a self-signed TLS certificate.
## Static configuration
serversTransport:
rootCAs:
- foo.crt
- bar.crt
## Static configuration
[serversTransport]
rootCAs = ["foo.crt", "bar.crt"]
## Static configuration
--serversTransport.rootCAs=foo.crt,bar.crt
maxIdleConnsPerHost
¶
Optional, Default=2
If non-zero, maxIdleConnsPerHost
controls the maximum idle (keep-alive) connections to keep per-host.
## Static configuration
serversTransport:
maxIdleConnsPerHost: 7
## Static configuration
[serversTransport]
maxIdleConnsPerHost = 7
## Static configuration
--serversTransport.maxIdleConnsPerHost=7
spiffe
¶
Please note that SPIFFE must be enabled in the static configuration before using it to secure the connection between Traefik and the backends.
spiffe.ids
¶
Optional
ids
defines the allowed SPIFFE IDs.
This takes precedence over the SPIFFE TrustDomain.
## Static configuration
serversTransport:
spiffe:
ids:
- spiffe://trust-domain/id1
- spiffe://trust-domain/id2
## Static configuration
[serversTransport.spiffe]
ids = ["spiffe://trust-domain/id1", "spiffe://trust-domain/id2"]
## Static configuration
--serversTransport.spiffe.ids=spiffe://trust-domain/id1,spiffe://trust-domain/id2
spiffe.trustDomain
¶
Optional
trustDomain
defines the allowed SPIFFE trust domain.
## Static configuration
serversTransport:
trustDomain: spiffe://trust-domain
## Static configuration
[serversTransport.spiffe]
trustDomain = "spiffe://trust-domain"
## Static configuration
--serversTransport.spiffe.trustDomain=spiffe://trust-domain
forwardingTimeouts
¶
forwardingTimeouts
is about a number of timeouts relevant to when forwarding requests to the backend servers.
forwardingTimeouts.dialTimeout
¶
Optional, Default=30s
dialTimeout
is the maximum duration allowed for a connection to a backend server to be established.
Zero means no timeout.
## Static configuration
serversTransport:
forwardingTimeouts:
dialTimeout: 1s
## Static configuration
[serversTransport.forwardingTimeouts]
dialTimeout = "1s"
## Static configuration
--serversTransport.forwardingTimeouts.dialTimeout=1s
forwardingTimeouts.responseHeaderTimeout
¶
Optional, Default=0s
responseHeaderTimeout
, if non-zero, specifies the amount of time to wait for a server's response headers
after fully writing the request (including its body, if any).
This time does not include the time to read the response body.
Zero means no timeout.
## Static configuration
serversTransport:
forwardingTimeouts:
responseHeaderTimeout: 1s
## Static configuration
[serversTransport.forwardingTimeouts]
responseHeaderTimeout = "1s"
## Static configuration
--serversTransport.forwardingTimeouts.responseHeaderTimeout=1s
forwardingTimeouts.idleConnTimeout
¶
Optional, Default=90s
idleConnTimeout
, is the maximum amount of time an idle (keep-alive) connection
will remain idle before closing itself.
Zero means no limit.
## Static configuration
serversTransport:
forwardingTimeouts:
idleConnTimeout: 1s
## Static configuration
[serversTransport.forwardingTimeouts]
idleConnTimeout = "1s"
## Static configuration
--serversTransport.forwardingTimeouts.idleConnTimeout=1s
TCP Servers Transports¶
dialTimeout
¶
Optional, Default="30s"
dialTimeout
is the maximum duration allowed for a connection to a backend server to be established.
Zero means no timeout.
## Static configuration
tcpServersTransport:
dialTimeout: 30s
## Static configuration
[tcpServersTransport]
dialTimeout = "30s"
## Static configuration
--tcpServersTransport.dialTimeout=30s
dialKeepAlive
¶
Optional, Default="15s"
dialKeepAlive
defines the interval between keep-alive probes sent on an active network connection.
If zero, keep-alive probes are sent with a default value (currently 15 seconds), if supported by the protocol and
operating system. Network protocols or operating systems that do not support keep-alives ignore this field. If negative,
keep-alive probes are disabled.
## Static configuration
tcpServersTransport:
dialKeepAlive: 30s
## Static configuration
[tcpServersTransport]
dialKeepAlive = "30s"
## Static configuration
--tcpServersTransport.dialKeepAlive=30s
tls
¶
tls
defines the TLS configuration to connect with TCP backends.
Optional
An empty tls
section enables TLS.
## Static configuration
tcpServersTransport:
tls: {}
## Static configuration
[tcpServersTransport.tls]
## Static configuration
--tcpServersTransport.tls=true
tls.insecureSkipVerify
¶
Optional
insecureSkipVerify
disables the server's certificate chain and host name verification.
## Static configuration
tcpServersTransport:
tls:
insecureSkipVerify: true
## Static configuration
[tcpServersTransport.tls]
insecureSkipVerify = true
## Static configuration
--tcpServersTransport.tls.insecureSkipVerify=true
tls.rootCAs
¶
Optional
rootCAs
defines the set of Root Certificate Authorities (as file paths, or data bytes)
to use when verifying self-signed TLS server certificates.
## Static configuration
tcpServersTransport:
tls:
rootCAs:
- foo.crt
- bar.crt
## Static configuration
[tcpServersTransport.tls]
rootCAs = ["foo.crt", "bar.crt"]
## Static configuration
--tcpServersTransport.tls.rootCAs=foo.crt,bar.crt
spiffe
¶
Please note that SPIFFE must be enabled in the static configuration before using it to secure the connection between Traefik and the backends.
spiffe.ids
¶
Optional
ids
defines the allowed SPIFFE IDs.
This takes precedence over the SPIFFE TrustDomain.
## Static configuration
tcpServersTransport:
spiffe:
ids:
- spiffe://trust-domain/id1
- spiffe://trust-domain/id2
## Static configuration
[tcpServersTransport.spiffe]
ids = ["spiffe://trust-domain/id1", "spiffe://trust-domain/id2"]
## Static configuration
--tcpServersTransport.spiffe.ids=spiffe://trust-domain/id1,spiffe://trust-domain/id2
spiffe.trustDomain
¶
Optional
trustDomain
defines the allowed SPIFFE trust domain.
## Static configuration
tcpServersTransport:
trustDomain: spiffe://trust-domain
## Static configuration
[tcpServersTransport.spiffe]
trustDomain = "spiffe://trust-domain"
## Static configuration
--tcpServersTransport.spiffe.trustDomain=spiffe://trust-domain
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If you are using Traefik at work, consider adding enterprise-grade API gateway capabilities or commercial support for Traefik OSS.
Adding API Gateway capabilities to Traefik OSS is fast and seamless. There's no rip and replace and all configurations remain intact. See it in action via this short video.