Request Forwarder

A Java-based application that forwards incoming HTTP GET requests to multiple backend servers in parallel. Built using Maven, Logback for logging, and Apache HttpClient for making HTTP requests.

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Table of Contents

1. Features
2. Prerequisites
3. Setup
4. Usage
5. Logs
6. Configuration
7. Dependencies
8. Project Structure
9. Contributing
10. Author
11. Acknowledgments

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Features

• Forwards incoming HTTP GET requests to multiple backend servers.
• Logs requests and responses to both the console and a daily rolling log file.
• Configurable backend servers and server port via application.properties.
• Handles timeouts for backend requests.
• Uses multi-threading to ensure that slow or unresponsive backend servers do not block others.

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Prerequisites

• Java 11 or later.
• Maven 3.x or later.

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Setup

1. Clone the Repository:

   Run the following command to clone the repository:
   git clone https://github.com/codecarver/request-forwarder.git
   cd request-forwarder
   

2. Build the Project:

   Build the project using Maven:
   mvn clean install
   

3. Configure Backend Servers: Edit the application.properties file in the src/main/resources directory to specify the backend servers and server port:

   # Server configuration
   server.port=8080
   
   # Backend servers with paths/endpoints (comma-separated list)
   backend.servers=http://192.168.1.101:8080/api,http://192.168.1.102:8080/api,http://192.168.1.103:8080/api
   

4. Run the Application: Run the application using the following command:

   java -jar target/request-forwarder.jar
   

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Usage

Send a GET request to the application:

curl "http://localhost:8080/resource?param1=value1&param2=value2"

The application will:

1. Log the request details.
2. Forward the request to all configured backend servers.
3. Log the responses from the backend servers.
4. Return a confirmation message to the client.

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Logs

• Logs are written to the logs/app.log file in the project directory.
• Logs are also printed to the console (sysout).
• Log files are rolled daily, and old logs are kept for 30 days.

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Configuration

application.properties:

• server.port: The port on which the application listens for incoming requests.
• backend.servers: A comma-separated list of backend server URLs.

logback.xml:

• Configures logging behavior, including log file location, rolling policy, and log format.

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Dependencies

• Apache HttpClient: For making HTTP requests to backend servers.
• Logback: For logging requests and responses.
• SLF4J: Logging facade.
• Apache Commons Configuration: For reading the application.properties file.

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Project Structure

request-forwarder/
├── src/
│   ├── main/
│   │   ├── java/
│   │   │   └── com/
│   │   │       └── example/
│   │   │           └── RequestForwarder.java
│   │   └── resources/
│   │       ├── application.properties
│   │       └── logback.xml
│   └── test/
│       └── java/
├── target/
├── logs/
├── pom.xml
└── README

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new branch (git checkout -b feature/your-feature).
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some feature').
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/your-feature).
5. Open a pull request.

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Author

Siwi (https://github.com/codecarver)

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Acknowledgments

• Apache HttpClient (https://hc.apache.org/httpcomponents-client-ga/)
• Logback (https://logback.qos.ch/)
• SLF4J (https://www.slf4j.org/)
• Apache Commons Configuration (https://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-configuration/)