SID-02108: How do I use an HTTP Rewrite to redirect to new server

Status:	Answered	TWiki version:	6.0.1	Perl version:	5.018002
Category:	CategoryDeployment	Server OS:	Ubuntu 14.04.2 LTS	Last update:	10 years ago

I am migrating my Twiki site from one machine to another. This is an internal system and is not accessible from outside the lan.

What I have been asked to do is write an http rewrite so that any existing links to the old site will go to the correct location on the new site. The paths to each are below.

https://oldserver/cgi-bin/twiki/view/Main/documentname ----- Old site https://newserver/cgi-bin/twiki/view/Matrix/documentname ---- New Site

cgi-bin alias is: -

/usr/lib/cgi-bin/twiki - /cgi-bin

In the top of the document section of the apache2/sites-available/twiki.conf file I have the following

RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule ^/cgi-bin/twiki/view/Main/(.*)$ https://newserver/cgi-bin/view/Matrix/$1 [R=301,L]

It however does precisely nothing.

Just wondering if you have any clue what I am doing wrong?

-- Neil Roberts - 2015-10-05

Discussion and Answer

Make sure the rewrite_module is loaded by Apache. The rewrite rule appries to the current directory where the rewrite rule is listed, e.g. you might need to just specify view/Main/(.*)$ for the first parameter.

Alternatively install the MovedSkin and set a MOVEDMESSAGE in the TWikiPreferences, it has been designed for this use case.

-- Peter Thoeny - 2015-10-05

This may be nitpicking, but if no additional conditions apply to your use case, mod_rewrite seems like a bit of overengineering. The simple apache way would be to use Redirect, as provided by mod_alias. So, instead of your Alias or ScriptAlias you can use:

  Redirect permanent /cgi-bin/twiki/view/Main/ https://newserver/cgi-bin/twiki/view/Matrix/

The permanent declaration causes a 301 status, like your rewrite rule. Another nitpicking: There's an omission in your rewrite rule: The target URL is missing twiki/ between cgi-bin/ and view. I guess that is not the problem, because this should result in a different symptom: a 404 response from newserver.

-- Harald Jörg - 2015-10-05

Thanks very much Peter. I used your method and it worked perfectly. Thanks as well Harald for your suggestion. That is certainly one I will keep a note of for future reference.

-- Neil Roberts - 2015-10-06

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