Jake Gunn — Reverse Proxy Multi-Tenant Lab Report

Jake Gunn

Reverse Proxy + Multi-Tenant Website Lab Report — Two different websites hosted on the same server, separated by DNS + Apache VirtualHosts, and isolated with separate MySQL databases.

Primary: jakegunn.com Lab: lab.jakegunn.com Backend port: 8081 Web server: Apache DB: MySQL
Open jakegunn.com ↗ Open lab.jakegunn.com ↗ Open Lab Admin ↗

What We Built (High-Level)

This lab demonstrates how a single Linux server can host multiple independent websites using a reverse proxy, virtual hosts, and separate databases — a common real-world pattern for multi-tenant hosting.

Goal

Two sites, one server

Isolation

Separate MySQL DBs

Routing

Reverse proxy by hostname

Clickable Sections

Click a section to see what we did, why we did it, and what to show as proof.

1) DNS + Subdomain (lab.jakegunn.com)

Why: DNS tells the internet where lab.jakegunn.com lives. Without it, browsers can’t reach the server and Let’s Encrypt can’t validate certificates.

Cloudflare DNS: Type: A Name: lab Content: 149.28.127.166 Proxy status: DNS only (gray cloud)
  • Verified DNS propagation using dig +short lab.jakegunn.com
  • Confirmed the subdomain resolves to the same server IP as the primary site

2) Multi-Tenant Hosting (Two sites on one server)

Why: Multi-tenant hosting is common for labs, dev environments, and small hosting setups. One server runs multiple websites by matching hostnames in Apache VirtualHosts.

  • Primary site served from /var/www/jakegunn.com/html
  • Lab site served from /var/www/lab.jakegunn.com/html
  • Both websites are reachable publicly with different content

3) Database Isolation (Separate MySQL DB per site)

Why: Each site has its own database to keep content/users/settings separate and reduce blast radius.

MySQL (example): DB1: wordpress (jakegunn.com) DB2: lab_wordpress (lab.jakegunn.com)
  • Created a dedicated DB + user for lab WordPress
  • Configured wp-config.php for the lab site to use the lab database
  • Verified home and siteurl match HTTPS for the lab domain

4) Reverse Proxy (Apache)

Why: Reverse proxies route traffic to internal services without exposing internal ports publicly. Here, Apache accepts HTTPS and forwards requests internally to a backend WordPress site on port 8081.

Public: https://lab.jakegunn.com → Apache :443 Internal: Apache → http://127.0.0.1:8081 (backend WordPress)
  • Backend bound to port 8081 (internal service)
  • Front-end VirtualHost on :443 proxies to 127.0.0.1:8081
  • Port 80 redirects to HTTPS for clean browser behavior

5) HTTPS + Certbot

Why: HTTPS encrypts credentials and admin sessions. Certbot automates Let’s Encrypt certificates and renewals so the site stays trusted by browsers.

Certbot (example): sudo certbot –apache -d lab.jakegunn.com
  • Issued and installed SSL certificate for lab.jakegunn.com
  • HTTPS enforced for secure admin login
  • Certificate auto-renew enabled

6) Troubleshooting Notes (Real-World Problem Solving)

Why this matters: Reverse proxies + WordPress often require fixing protocol detection and redirect loops. This lab included real troubleshooting like you’d do in production.

  • Redirect loop: Fixed by ensuring WordPress home/siteurl matched HTTPS.
  • Admin login warnings: Resolved by aligning proxy behavior and WordPress URL settings.
  • Validation: Used curl -IL to trace redirect chains and confirm 200 OK.
Quick checks: curl -IL https://lab.jakegunn.com/wp-admin/ | head -n 30 sudo apache2ctl -S sudo ss -lntp | grep 8081

7) Proof Checklist (Screenshots / Commands)

Use these as your “receipts” for the lab submission. Screenshot the outputs and the two working websites.

  • Cloudflare DNS record showing A → lab points to the server IP (DNS only)
  • Screenshot: https://jakegunn.com loads (site A)
  • Screenshot: https://lab.jakegunn.com loads (site B)
  • Command proof: backend service running on 8081
  • Command proof: show databases exist (wordpress + lab_wordpress)
  • Command proof: Apache VirtualHosts show both domains mapped
Commands (copy/paste): sudo ss -lntp | grep 8081 sudo mysql -e “SHOW DATABASES;” sudo apache2ctl -S curl -IL https://lab.jakegunn.com/wp-admin/ | head -n 30

Optional nice touch: Change the lab site title to “Lab Environment – Reverse Proxy Test” to visually prove it’s separate from the main site.