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HTTPS Redirects

HTTPS Redirects

Nexus GSLB includes a built-in HTTP redirect service that lets you redirect traffic for any hostname in your zone to a target URL, with optional path and query string preservation. This is the same type of feature NS1 calls "Redirect Manager" — rules are stored in the database, replicated to all cluster nodes, and take effect immediately.

Common use cases:

  • Redirect http:// to https:// for all traffic on a domain
  • Redirect a retired domain or subdomain to its replacement
  • Redirect a vanity domain to a canonical URL
  • Serve a maintenance page redirect during incidents

License: HTTP redirects require the paid tier or above. The redirect listener is disabled at startup on free and unlicensed installations. Contact licensing@gslb.nexus to upgrade.

Prerequisites

  • Nexus GSLB is authoritative for your zone (e.g. gslb.cc)
  • Port 80 (or your chosen redirect port) is open on each Nexus node
  • The Nexus API is accessible

Step 1 — Enable the redirect listener

Edit /etc/gslb/config.yaml on each node:

redirect:
  enabled: true
  listenAddr: "0.0.0.0"
  port: 80

Restart each node:

systemctl restart gslbd

Verify the listener started:

systemctl status gslbd | grep "redirect listener"
# Expected: redirect listener starting addr=0.0.0.0:80

If port 80 is already in use by Caddy or nginx, use a different port (e.g. 8880) and configure a proxy pass to it. See Behind a reverse proxy below.

Step 2 — Create a redirect rule

curl -X POST https://nexus-api.example.com/api/v1/redirects \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GSLB_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "sourceFqdn":   "old.gslb.cc",
    "targetUrl":    "https://new.gslb.cc",
    "code":         301,
    "preservePath": true
  }'

Response:

{
  "id": "a1b2c3d4...",
  "tenantId": "default",
  "sourceFqdn": "old.gslb.cc",
  "targetUrl": "https://new.gslb.cc",
  "code": 301,
  "preservePath": true,
  "createdAt": 1716100000
}

The rule is live on all cluster nodes immediately — no restart needed.

Step 3 — Point DNS at the Nexus nodes

The redirect service handles the HTTP layer; DNS must point old.gslb.cc to the nodes running the listener.

Create a pool and service in the normal way:

# Create a pool for the redirect nodes
POOL=$(curl -sX POST https://nexus-api.example.com/api/v1/pools \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GSLB_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"name":"redirect-nodes"}' | jq -r .id)

# Add the Nexus node IPs as members
curl -X POST https://nexus-api.example.com/api/v1/pools/$POOL/members \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GSLB_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"name":"lon-01","ipAddress":"45.92.9.73","port":80,"weight":1}'

curl -X POST https://nexus-api.example.com/api/v1/pools/$POOL/members \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GSLB_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"name":"eu-01","ipAddress":"65.21.14.204","port":80,"weight":1}'

# Create the DNS service
curl -X POST https://nexus-api.example.com/api/v1/services \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GSLB_API_KEY" \
  -d "{\"name\":\"old-redirect\",\"domain\":\"old.gslb.cc\",\"algorithm\":\"round-robin\",\"ttl\":60,\"poolId\":\"$POOL\"}"

Now old.gslb.cc resolves to a Nexus node IP, which serves the redirect.

Verifying the redirect

# Follow redirects and print the chain
curl -IL http://old.gslb.cc/docs/foo

# Expected:
# HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently
# Location: https://new.gslb.cc/docs/foo

Test from each node directly to verify cluster sync:

curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code} %{redirect_url}" \
  http://45.92.9.73/ -H "Host: old.gslb.cc"
# 301 https://new.gslb.cc/

Common patterns

HTTP → HTTPS for a service

Redirect all HTTP traffic for admin.gslb.cc to HTTPS with path preservation:

{
  "sourceFqdn":   "admin.gslb.cc",
  "targetUrl":    "https://admin.gslb.cc",
  "code":         301,
  "preservePath": true
}

http://admin.gslb.cc/settings → https://admin.gslb.cc/settings

Domain migration (old → new)

{
  "sourceFqdn":   "legacy.gslb.cc",
  "targetUrl":    "https://app.gslb.cc",
  "code":         301,
  "preservePath": true
}

http://legacy.gslb.cc/v2/users → https://app.gslb.cc/v2/users

Vanity domain (no path)

{
  "sourceFqdn":   "go.gslb.cc",
  "targetUrl":    "https://docs.gslb.cc/getting-started",
  "code":         301,
  "preservePath": false
}

All requests to go.gslb.cc redirect to the fixed URL, ignoring the path.

Temporary maintenance redirect

{
  "sourceFqdn":   "app.gslb.cc",
  "targetUrl":    "https://status.gslb.cc",
  "code":         302,
  "preservePath": false
}

Use code 302 so clients don't cache the redirect. Delete the rule when maintenance ends.

Managing rules

List all rules:

curl https://nexus-api.example.com/api/v1/redirects \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GSLB_API_KEY" | jq .

Delete a rule:

RULE_ID="a1b2c3d4..."
curl -X DELETE https://nexus-api.example.com/api/v1/redirects/$RULE_ID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GSLB_API_KEY"

The rule is removed from the live handler immediately — no restart needed.

Behind a reverse proxy

If Caddy or nginx already listens on port 80, run the Nexus redirect service on a different port and proxy to it.

Config:

redirect:
  enabled: true
  listenAddr: "127.0.0.1"
  port: 8880

Caddyfile snippet:

http://old.gslb.cc {
    reverse_proxy 127.0.0.1:8880
}

This passes the original Host header through unchanged, which the redirect service uses for rule lookup.

With nginx, ensure proxy_set_header Host $host; is set — it is not the default.

HTTPS source domains (redirect from HTTPS)

The redirect listener is HTTP only. To redirect HTTPS traffic (e.g. https://old.gslb.cc), a TLS-terminating reverse proxy (Caddy) must sit in front:

https://old.gslb.cc {
    # Caddy obtains the certificate for old.gslb.cc via ACME.
    # See docs/user/ACMECertificates.md for DNS-01 setup.
    tls {
        dns rfc2136 { ... }
    }
    reverse_proxy 127.0.0.1:8880
}

Caddy terminates TLS, then proxies the plaintext request to the Nexus redirect listener, which serves the 301/302.

Troubleshooting

connection refused on port 80

The redirect listener is not running. Check:

systemctl status gslbd
# Look for: redirect listener starting addr=0.0.0.0:80

Ensure redirect.enabled: true and redirect.port is set in the config.

404 Not Found from the redirect service

No rule matches the Host header. Verify:

curl https://nexus-api.example.com/api/v1/redirects \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GSLB_API_KEY" | jq '.[].sourceFqdn'

Check that sourceFqdn matches the hostname exactly (case-insensitive, no port, no trailing dot).

Redirect loop

If sourceFqdn and targetUrl resolve to the same host, browsers will loop. Check that targetUrl uses a different hostname or protocol from sourceFqdn.

Old redirect still cached in browser

301 redirects are cached by browsers indefinitely. During testing, use 302 or use a private/incognito window. Once confirmed working, switch to 301.

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