Running Glance in HTTPD¶

Glance provides full support for running as a WSGI application under various web servers including Apache HTTPD and nginx. This deployment method is now fully supported and recommended for production environments. This document describes the recommended deployment patterns for running Glance with Apache HTTPD with uWSGI.

Changed in version 15.0.0: Added the glance-wsgi-api WSGI script, which can be used with uWSGI using the [uwsgi] wsgi-file configuration option. This can be used for the basic API service, though not all functionality is currently supported and standalone (eventlet) mode is still recommended for production environments.

Changed in version 21.0.0: (Victoria)

Glance now fully supports WSGI deployment including all functionality such as interoperable image import, chunked transfer encoding, and graceful shutdown. This deployment method is recommended for production environments.

Changed in version 30.0.0: (2025.1, Epoxy)

Added the glance.wsgi.api module as a replacement for the glance-wsgi-api WSGI script. This can be used with uWSGI using the [uwsgi] module configuration option. The glance-wsgi-api WSGI script is now deprecated for removal.

Changed in version 32.0.0: (2026.1, Gazpacho)

The glance-wsgi-api WSGI script has been removed.

uWSGI Server HTTP Mode¶

This is the most common deployment method for running Glance under Apache HTTPD and is what is currently tested by the Glance project.

uWSGI provides excellent performance and full compatibility with Glance’s features including:

Full support for chunked transfer encoding
Interoperable image import functionality
Graceful shutdown and reload capabilities
Native threading support
Production-ready stability

Configuration Example¶

Here’s a sample uWSGI configuration for Glance API:

[uwsgi]
socket-timeout = 10
http-auto-chunked = true
http-chunked-input = true
http-raw-body = true
chmod-socket = 666
lazy-apps = true
add-header = Connection: close
buffer-size = 65535
thunder-lock = true
plugins = python
enable-threads = true
exit-on-reload = true
die-on-term = true
master = true
processes = 4
http-socket = 127.0.0.1:60999
module = glance.wsgi.api:application

Key Configuration Options¶

http-auto-chunked = true - Enables automatic chunked transfer encoding support
http-chunked-input = true - Supports chunked input for image uploads
enable-threads = true - Enables native threading for better performance
die-on-term = true - Enables graceful shutdown on SIGTERM
exit-on-reload = true - Enables graceful reload on SIGHUP

Graceful Shutdown¶

Glance running under uWSGI supports graceful shutdown through:

SIGTERM signal for graceful shutdown
SIGHUP signal for configuration reload
Automatic worker pool draining
Proper cleanup of background tasks

mod_proxy_uwsgi¶

This deployment method uses Apache’s mod_proxy_uwsgi module to proxy requests to a uWSGI server.

Configuration Example¶

Apache VirtualHost configuration:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName glance-api.example.com

    ProxyPreserveHost On
    ProxyPass / uwsgi://127.0.0.1:60999/
    ProxyPassReverse / uwsgi://127.0.0.1:60999/

    # Optional: Add headers for better logging
    ProxyAddHeaders On
</VirtualHost>

Benefits¶

Apache handles SSL termination and load balancing
uWSGI handles the Python application
Full compatibility with all Glance features
Production-ready and scalable

mod_wsgi¶

This deployment method uses Apache’s mod_wsgi module directly.

Note

While mod_wsgi is supported, uWSGI is recommended for better performance and feature compatibility.

Configuration Example¶

Apache VirtualHost configuration:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName glance-api.example.com

    WSGIDaemonProcess glance-api processes=4 threads=15
    WSGIProcessGroup glance-api
    WSGIScriptAlias / /usr/local/bin/glance-wsgi-api

    <Directory /usr/local/bin>
        WSGIApplicationGroup %{GLOBAL}
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Performance Considerations¶

For production deployments, consider:

Process Management: Use uWSGI’s master process for better stability
Threading: Enable native threading for I/O-bound operations
Memory: Configure appropriate buffer sizes for large image transfers
Timeouts: Set appropriate socket timeouts for long-running operations
Logging: Configure proper logging for monitoring and debugging

Monitoring and Troubleshooting¶

Monitor uWSGI worker processes and memory usage
Check logs for any chunked transfer encoding issues
Verify graceful shutdown behavior during deployments
Test interoperable image import functionality
Monitor response times for large image operations

Glossary¶

uwsgi protocol¶

The native protocol used by the uWSGI server. (The acronym is written in all lowercase on purpose.)

https://uwsgi-docs.readthedocs.io/en/latest/Protocol.html

uWSGI project¶

A project that aims at developing a full stack for building hosting services. It produces software, the uWSGI server, that is exposed in Python code as a module named uwsgi.

https://uwsgi-docs.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html

https://pypi.org/project/uWSGI/

https://github.com/unbit/uwsgi

mod_wsgi¶