# Rails app acting as gateway + wrapper?

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/rails-app-acting-as-gateway-wrapper/197180>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [July 28, 2008, 11:36pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/rails-app-acting-as-gateway-wrapper/197180 "2008-07-28T23:36:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![lazx](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/f1d935/32.png) [@lazx](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/lazx)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 11:36pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/rails-app-acting-as-gateway-wrapper/197180/1 "2008-07-28T23:36:52Z")

</div>

I am currently developing a semi large application and am piecing  
together various smaller web applications to decrease development  
time. Some of the smaller applications are running on a tomcat  
server.

The idea is that the RoR application will handle authentication,  
permissions, and various other management tasks. The RoR application  
should also wrap around the tomcat application. I know this can be  
accomplished using an iframe, but there is still the problem of  
protecting the tomcat app. And using an HTTP library (so that tomcat  
data is sent to the RoR gateway, then the RoR gateway forwards data to  
client) would introduce too much complexity (imo), as there will be  
ajax involved.

Can anyone provide me with some pointers on how to get rails to  
intercept and then authorize requests to other non-rails applications  
(within the same domain!) based on a user’s given permissions to an  
application, page, and/or parameter(s)?

Example:

```
         (2) RoR gateway app
          /

```

(1) nginx  
  
(3) tomcat

(1) Request to myapp:80/java\_app/jsp\_page  
(2) nginx forwards request to RoR gateway app, which validates the  
user has permission.  
(3) RoR grants access to /java\_app/jsp\_page, tomcat page is now  
_magically_ displayed within the rails gateway app (in an iframe?  
other options?)

Appreciate your help.