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Enabling GeoLocation (GEOIP Legacy database) (archive only)
On January 2, 2019, MaxMind discontinued GeoLite Legacy databases. This legacy database installation and configuration wiki is now ARCHIVE ONLY. Please check this wiki for MaxMind GeoIP2 database setup.
Geolocation (GEOIP) enables developers to enhance the user experience. Content and advertising may be customized for a specific user's country, showing pages more relevant to the location of the user. Admins can further enhance a site's security by blocking a client based on country.
How to Enable GeoIP module
Enabling GeoIP is easy. The following are simple steps on a CentOS system to install through yum to install MaxMind GeoIP Legacy database. Check this wiki for MaxMind GeoIP2 database and IP2Location database setup.
Install
Install GeoIP database for CentOS users:
yum install GeoIP-data
Install other modules:
yum install GeoIP-devel zlib-devel
Setup
Check geo database:
rpm -ql GeoIP
It may return a database path similar to:
/usr/share/GeoIP/GeoIP.dat
In LSWS WebAdmin, configure the database location. Navigate to Configuration > Server > General > General settings > IP to GeoLocation DB
Enter DB File Path:
/usr/share/GeoIP/GeoIP.dat
Set DB Cache Type to MemoryCache
Navigate to Web Admin > Configurations > Your Virtual Hosts > Rewrite to add rewrite rules that will control the redirect:
<IfModule LiteSpeed> RewriteEngine on RewriteCond %{ENV:GEOIP_COUNTRY_CODE} ^(CA)$ RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada [R,L] </IfModule>
Refer to Maxmind for more rewrite examples.
How to Verify
Change Your Source IP by Proxy
Method 1:
From this site , we can simply put in a web IP and choose a country from three(USA, Germany, Netherlands). If you want more than three countries, then you need to register for a paid plan.
Method 2:
You can choose a free proxy server from online free resources, e.g. Free_Proxy
Setup the proxy IP with your browser. Here are the steps for Chrome:
- Click on Settings.
- Click Show advanced settings
- Scroll further down the list until you see System
- Click Open proxy settings
- Click the LAN settings button.
- On the Internet Properties window, click the LAN settings button.
- In the LAN Settings, uncheck the box that says Automatically detect settings.
- In the Proxy Server section, click the checkbox to enable
Use a proxy server for your LAN…
- In the Address field, enter the IP Address and Port Number of your Proxy Server.
- Press the OK button and then press OK again to save your settings.
- Now when you surf the web, you will be surfing by using the Proxy Server.
Check Correct IP is Set
- You can check source IP via LiteSpeed default php page
http://your_domain/phpinfo.php
. First, you need to set Admin > Configurations > Your Virtual Hosts > General > Enable GeoLocation Lookup toYes
_SERVER["GEOIP_ADDR"] _SERVER["GEOIP_COUNTRY_CODE"] _SERVER["GEOIP_COUNTRY_NAME"] _SERVER["GEOIP_CONTINENT_CODE"]
- Or use online IP check, e.g. What is my IP
- Or
ipinfo.io
online service, which will return json format:curl ipinfo.io/153.232.58.88 >>> { "ip": "153.232.58.88", "hostname": "88.58.232.153.ap.dti.ne.jp", "city": "Tokyo", "region": "Tokyo", "country": "JP", "loc": "35.6850,139.7514", "org": "AS4713 NTT Communications Corporation", "postal": "102-0082" }
Check DB by lookup command
Use geoiplookup
/geoiplookup6
command to verify GeoData is working:
geoiplookup /usr/share/GeoIP/GeoIP.dat 62.26.0.0 >> GeoIP Country Edition: DE, Germany geoiplookup /usr/share/GeoIP/GeoIP.dat 210.212.193.192 >> GeoIP Country Edition: IN, India
Set Rewrite Rules
Navigate to Web Admin > Configurations > Your Virtual Hosts > Rewrite:
- Set Rewrite to
Yes
- For testing purpose, set Log Level to
9
. - Add the following rules to Rewrite Rules content:
# Redirect two specific countries RewriteCond %{ENV:GEOIP_COUNTRY_CODE} ^(CA)$ RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada [R,L] RewriteCond %{ENV:GEOIP_COUNTRY_CODE} ^(EU)$ RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe [R,L]
Log
tail -f /PATH_TO_LSWS/log/error.log
When you are using CA IP:
[REWRITE] Rule: Match '/' with pattern '^(.*)$', result: 2 [REWRITE] Cond: Match 'CA' with pattern '^(CA)$', result: 2 [REWRITE] Source URI: '/' => Result URI: 'https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada'
When you are using Germany IP:
[REWRITE] Rule: Match '/' with pattern '^(.*)$', result: 2 [REWRITE] Cond: Match 'EU' with pattern '^(EU)$', result: 2 [REWRITE] Source URI: '/' => Result URI: 'https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe'
When you are using Netherlands IP:
[REWRITE] Rule: Match '/' with pattern '^(.*)$', result: 2 [REWRITE] Cond: Match 'NL' with pattern '^(CA)$', result: -1 [REWRITE] Rule: Match '/' with pattern '^(.*)$', result: 2 [REWRITE] Cond: Match 'NL' with pattern '^(EU)$', result: -1
2
is match,-1
is not match
Troubleshooting
- If the module is not working, make sure that the httpd user (e.g.
nobody
) has read access to the GeoIP database file(s) you are using. - If the GeoIP variables do not show up please make sure that the client IP address is not on a private network such as 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12 or 192.168.0.0/16. GeoIP can only look up public IP addresses.
Update GeoIP Database through yum or manually download
If you install GeoIP-data through yum, you can do upgrade through:
yum update GeoIP-data
You can also download/update GeoIP database manually:
Download new database from:
wget -N http://geolite.maxmind.com/download/geoip/database/GeoLiteCountry/GeoIP.dat.gz
Uncompress it:
gunzip GeoIP.dat.gz
Move the file in the right directory:
mv GeoIP.dat /usr/local/share/GeoIP/
More Information
- Rewrite rule: Blocking a client based on country example:
SetEnvIf GEOIP_COUNTRY_CODE DE BlockCountry Deny from env=BlockCountry