README: add reverse-proxying section

README.rst

@@ -568,6 +568,105 @@ For information on how to install and use PostgreSQL, please see
 `docs/postgres.rst <docs/postgres.rst>`_.
 
 
+.. _reverse-proxy:
+
+Using a reverse proxy with Synapse
+==================================
+
+It is possible to put a reverse proxy such as
+`nginx <https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_proxy_module.html>`_,
+`Apache <https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/mod/mod_proxy_http.html>`_ or
+`HAProxy <http://www.haproxy.org/>`_ in front of Synapse. One advantage of
+doing so is that it means that you can expose the default https port (443) to
+Matrix clients without needing to run Synapse with root privileges.
+
+The most important thing to know here is that Matrix clients and other Matrix
+servers do not necessarily need to connect to your server via the same
+port. Indeed, clients will use port 443 by default, whereas other servers
+default to port 8448. Where these are different, we refer to the 'client port'
+and the 'federation port'.
+
+The next most important thing to know is that using a reverse-proxy on the
+federation port has a number of pitfalls. It is possible, but be sure to read
+`Reverse-proxying the federation port`_.
+
+The recommended setup is therefore to configure your reverse-proxy on port 443
+for client connections, but to also expose port 8448 for server-server
+connections. All the Matrix endpoints begin ``/_matrix``, so an example nginx
+configuration might look like::
+
+  server {
+      listen 443 ssl;
+      listen [::]:443 ssl;
+      server_name matrix.example.com;
+
+      location /_matrix {
+          proxy_pass http://localhost:8008;
+          proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $remote_addr;
+      }
+  }
+
+You will also want to set ``bind_address: 127.0.0.1`` and ``x_forwarded: true``
+for port 8008 in ``homeserver.yaml`` to ensure that client IP addresses are
+recorded correctly.
+
+Having done so, you can then use ``https://matrix.example.com`` (instead of
+``https://matrix.example.com:8448``) as the "Custom server" when `Connecting to
+Synapse from a client`_.
+
+Reverse-proxying the federation port
+------------------------------------
+
+There are two issues to consider before using a reverse-proxy on the federation
+port:
+
+* Due to the way SSL certificates are managed in the Matrix federation protocol
+  (see `spec <https://matrix.org/docs/spec/server_server/unstable.html#retrieving-server-keys>`_),
+  Synapse needs to be configured with the path to the SSL certificate, *even if
+  you do not terminate SSL at Synapse*.
+
+* Synapse does not currently support SNI on the federation protocol
+  (`bug #1491 <https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/1491>`_), which
+  means that using name-based virtual hosting is unreliable.
+
+Furthermore, a number of the normal reasons for using a reverse-proxy do not
+apply:
+
+* Other servers will connect on port 8448 by default, so there is no need to
+  listen on port 443 (for federation, at least), which avoids the need for root
+  privileges and virtual hosting.
+
+* A self-signed SSL certificate is fine for federation, so there is no need to
+  automate renewals. (The certificate generated by ``--generate-config`` is
+  valid for 10 years.)
+
+If you want to set up a reverse-proxy on the federation port despite these
+caveats, you will need to do the following:
+
+* In ``homeserver.yaml``, set ``tls_certificate_path`` to the path to the SSL
+  certificate file used by your reverse-proxy, and set ``no_tls`` to ``True``.
+  (``tls_private_key_path`` will be ignored if ``no_tls`` is ``True``.)
+
+* In your reverse-proxy configuration, if there are other virtual hosts on the
+  same port, make sure that Synapse is the default.
+
+* If your reverse-proxy is not listening on port 8448, publish a SRV record to
+  tell other servers how to find you. See `Setting up Federation`_.
+
+When updating the SSL certificate, just update the file pointed to by
+``tls_certificate_path``: there is no need to restart synapse. (You may like to
+use a symbolic link to help make this process atomic.)
+
+The most common mistake when setting up federation is not to tell Synapse about
+your SSL certificate. To check it, you can visit
+``https://matrix.org/federationtester/api/report?server_name=<your_server_name>``.
+Unfortunately, there is no UI for this yet, but, you should see
+``"MatchingTLSFingerprint": true``. If not, check that
+``Certificates[0].SHA256Fingerprint`` (the fingerprint of the certificate
+presented by your reverse-proxy) matches ``Keys.tls_fingerprints[0].sha256``
+(the fingerprint of the certificate Synapse is using).
+
+
 Identity Servers
 ================