Serving multiple directories outside of web root from the same URL with Apache2

Question

Is it possible to set up Apache to serve multiple directories from the same URL?

For example, given that I have images in two locations: /mnt/imagestore1, /mnt/imagestore2. I would like mysite.com/images/file.jpg to display images from either directory.

It does not seem to work with Aliases like so:

Alias /images /mnt/imagestore1
Alias /images /mnt/imagestore2

And using mod_rewrite with an .htaccess in the document root hasn't worked either, although my understanding of mod_rewrite may be off here:

RewriteCond /mnt/imagestore1/%{REQUEST_URI} -f
RewriteRule ^(.+) /mnt/imagestore1/$1 [L]
RewriteCond /mnt/imagestore2/%{REQUEST_URI} -f
RewriteRule ^(.+) /mnt/imagestore2/$1 [L]

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited Dec 12 '20 at 01:24

I've got this working through mod_rewrite. I updated the vhost configuration directly instead of using an .htaccess file. I believe it could work through the .htaccess but my rewrite rules were a bit off (note the missing /). It was also necessary to add the <Directory> declaration (to allow access) for the image directories.

The vhost looks as follows:

DocumentRoot /var/www/html
<Directory /var/www/html>
  Order allow,deny
  Allow from all
</Directory>

RewriteEngine on

RewriteCond "/mnt/imagestore1%{REQUEST_URI}" -f [OR]
RewriteCond "/mnt/imagestore1%{REQUEST_URI}" -d
RewriteRule ^/?(.*)$ /mnt/imagestore1/$1 [L]

RewriteCond "/mnt/imagestore2%{REQUEST_URI}" -f [OR]
RewriteCond "/mnt/imagestore2%{REQUEST_URI}" -d
RewriteRule ^/?(.*)$ /mnt/imagestore1/$1 [L]

<Directory /mnt/imagestore1>
  Order allow,deny
  Allow from all
</Directory>

<Directory /mnt/imagestore2>
  Order allow,deny
  Allow from all
</Directory>

Diamond · Answer 2 · 2015-12-14T19:30:40.217

0

The aliases won't work that way. The first match will be considered by apache and second ignored. See here:

https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/mod/mod_alias.html

..the Aliases and Redirects are processed in the order they appear in the configuration files, with the first match taking precedence.

And to answer your question: it is for the same reason, it is not possible to serve multiple directories from the same url.

edited Dec 14 '15 at 19:30

answered Dec 14 '15 at 19:23

Diamond

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This is not an answer. I can see that the aliases aren't working that way. – Matt Brunmeier Dec 14 '15 at 19:25
Well, read my updated answer. I wanted to make it clear, why it didnt and will not work. – Diamond Dec 14 '15 at 19:32

Serving multiple directories outside of web root from the same URL with Apache2

2 Answers2