Restricting access with HTTP basic authentication

You can restrict access to resources by implementing username/password authentication using the “HTTP Basic Authentication” protocol.

For more information on configuring HTTP Basic Authentication please refer to the NGINX Plus Restricting Access with HTTP Basic Authentication documentation.

Uploading a password file

F5 NGINX as a Service for Azure (NGINXaaS) accepts a file containing usernames and passwords using any of the password types specified in the NGINX documentation. The password file can be uploaded as a “protected file” when creating or updating your NGINX configuration to protect the file’s contents from being read. The password file can alternatively be uploaded as a regular file.

Configuring NGINX Plus for HTTP basic authentication

Inside the location or server you are protecting, specify the auth_basic directive giving a name to the password-protected area. Specify the auth_basic_user_file directive referencing the password file.

location /protected {
    auth_basic           "Protected Area";
    auth_basic_user_file /opt/.htpasswd;
}

Submit the NGINX configuration to apply it. You should be prompted to log in when you access the protected location or server.

Note:
The NGINX worker processes will open the password file. You must place the password file in a directory the worker processes are allowed to read or else all authenticated requests will fail.

• /opt
• /srv
• /var/www