http_memcached module

The module is used to obtain responses from a memcached server. The key is set in the $memcached_key variable. A response should be put in memcached in advance by means external to Angie.

Example Configuration

server {
    location / {
        set            $memcached_key "$uri?$args";
        memcached_pass host:11211;
        error_page     404 502 504 = @fallback;
    }

    location @fallback {
        proxy_pass     http://backend;
    }
}

Directives

memcached_bind

Syntax:

memcached_bind address [transparent] | off;

Default:

—

Context:

http, server, location

Makes outgoing connections to a memcached server originate from the specified local IP address with an optional port. Parameter value can contain variables. The special value off cancels the effect of the memcached_bind directive inherited from the previous configuration level, which allows the system to auto-assign the local IP address and port.

The transparent parameter allows outgoing connections to a memcached server originate from a non-local IP address, for example, from a real IP address of a client:

memcached_bind $remote_addr transparent;

In order for this parameter to work, it is usually necessary to run Angie worker processes with the superuser privileges. On Linux it is not required as if the transparent parameter is specified, worker processes inherit the CAP_NET_RAW capability from the master process.

Important

It is necessary to configure kernel routing table to intercept network traffic from the memcached server.

memcached_buffer_size

Syntax:

memcached_buffer_size size;

Default:

memcached_buffer_size 4k|8k;

Context:

http, server, location

Sets the size of the buffer used for reading the first part of the response received from the memcached server. The response is passed to the client synchronously, as soon as it is received.

memcached_connect_timeout

Syntax:

memcached_connect_timeout time;

Default:

memcached_connect_timeout 60s;

Context:

http, server, location

Defines a timeout for establishing a connection with a memcached server. It should be noted that this timeout cannot usually exceed 75 seconds.

memcached_gzip_flag

Syntax:

memcached_gzip_flag flag;

Default:

—

Context:

http, server, location

Enables the test for the flag presence in the memcached server response and sets the “Content-Encoding” response header field to “gzip” if the flag is set.

memcached_next_upstream

Syntax:

memcached_next_upstream error | timeout | invalid_response | not_found | off …;

Default:

memcached_next_upstream error timeout;

Context:

http, server, location

Specifies in which cases a request should be passed to the next server in the upstream pool:

error	an error occurred while establishing a connection with the server, passing a request to it, or reading the response header;
timeout	a timeout has occurred while establishing a connection with the server, passing a request to it, or reading the response header;
invalid_response	a server returned an empty or invalid response;
not_found	a response was not found on the server;
off	disables passing a request to the next server.

Note

One should bear in mind that passing a request to the next server is only possible if nothing has been sent to a client yet. That is, if an error or timeout occurs in the middle of the transferring of a response, fixing this is impossible.

The directive also defines what is considered an unsuccessful attempt of communication with a server.

error timeout invalid_response	always considered unsuccessful attempts, even if they are not specified in the directive
not_found	never considered unsuccessful attempts

Passing a request to the next server can be limited by the number of tries and by time.

memcached_next_upstream_timeout

Syntax:

memcached_next_upstream_timeout time;

Default:

memcached_next_upstream_timeout 0;

Context:

http, server, location

Limits the time during which a request can be passed to the next server.

0	turns off this limitation

memcached_next_upstream_tries

Syntax:

memcached_next_upstream_tries number;

Default:

memcached_next_upstream_tries 0;

Context:

http, server, location

Limits the number of possible tries for passing a request to the next server.

0	turns off this limitation

memcached_pass

Syntax:

memcached_pass URL;

Default:

—

Context:

location, if in location

Sets the memcached server address. The address can be specified as a domain name or IP address, and a port:

memcached_pass localhost:11211;

or as a UNIX domain socket path:

memcached_pass unix:/tmp/memcached.socket;

If a domain name resolves to several addresses, all of them will be used in a round-robin fashion. In addition, an address can be specified as a server group.

memcached_read_timeout

Syntax:

memcached_read_timeout time;

Default:

memcached_read_timeout 60s;

Context:

http, server, location

Defines a timeout for reading a response from the memcached server. The timeout is set only between two successive read operations, not for the transmission of the whole response. If the memcached server does not transmit anything within this time, the connection is closed.

memcached_send_timeout

Syntax:

memcached_send_timeout time;

Default:

memcached_send_timeout 60s;

Context:

http, server, location

Sets a timeout for transmitting a request to the memcached server. The timeout is set only between two successive write operations, not for the transmission of the whole request. If the memcached server does not receive anything within this time, the connection is closed.

memcached_socket_keepalive

Syntax:

memcached_socket_keepalive on | off;

Default:

memcached_socket_keepalive off;

Context:

http, server, location

Configures the “TCP keepalive” behavior for outgoing connections to a memcached server.

""	By default, the operating system’s settings are in effect for the socket.
on	The SO_KEEPALIVE socket option is turned on for the socket.

Built-in Variables

$memcached_key

Defines a key for obtaining response from a memcached server.