Custom Resolution of Client's Originating IP Address

Overview

You can configure which HTTP header Bloomreach Content uses to determine the client's originating IP address.

When to Use

Configure custom IP header resolution when your environment uses a header other than X-Forwarded-For to pass the client’s IP address. This is common when your load balancer or HTTP server sets a custom header.

Common use cases include:

Enabling HST Page Diagnostics or CMS Diagnostics for specific client IPs.
Using the GeoIPCollector in the Relevance Module to personalize content based on client location.

Default Behavior

By default, Bloomreach Content checks the X-Forwarded-For HTTP header to determine the client’s IP address. If this header is not present, it falls back to javax.servlet.ServletRequest#getRemoteAddr().

Customizing the IP Header

To use a different HTTP header, set the http-forwarded-for-header parameter in the $CATALINA_BASE/conf/context.xml file.

Example: Using a Custom Header

If your environment provides the client’s IP address in the X-FOO-Forwarded-For header, add the following parameter:

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<Context>

    <!-- SNIP -->

    <Parameter name="http-forwarded-for-header" value="X-FOO-Forwarded-For" override="false" />

    <!-- SNIP -->

</Context>

After this change, both the delivery and authoring tiers, as well as the GeoIPCollector, will use the specified header to resolve the client’s IP address.

Multiple Header Support

Note: Starting with brXM v12.2, you can specify multiple header names as a comma-separated list in the http-forwarded-for-header parameter.

Example:
"X-FOO-Forwarded-For, X-Forwarded-For"

When multiple headers are listed, Bloomreach Content checks each header in order and uses the first one found. This is useful if you deploy across different environments with varying proxy or load balancer configurations.

Verification

After updating the configuration, verify that the application resolves client IP addresses using the intended header(s). Test requests from different client IPs and check diagnostic features or logs to confirm correct behavior.