Configure origin settings

Akamai configures some origin settings by default. You can customize certain settings like header and hostname settings, origin certificate verification, and connection ports once the origin has been added to your workspace.

1. From the list of origins in the Origins tab, select the name of the origin you want to configure.
2. Set your origin type. This is the kind of server your origin content is retrieved from.
   1. Your origin. Can include Akamai Object Storage, third-party origins (like Amazon Web Services), or other custom origins.
   2. NetStorage. Akamai’s NetStorage service.
3. If necessary, edit the URL for your origin server hostname.
4. Select the forward host header type from the dropdown. This is the hostname Akamai forwards to your origin server in the HTTP HOST request header:
   1. Incoming host header. Service hostname received in the request is used. For example, a request for www.example.com results in www.example.com being sent in the HOST header.
   2. Origin hostname. The origin server hostname is sent in the request to your origin server. Used if the origin server is configured to listen for the origin server hostname. For example, end-user requests for www.example.com result in origin-www.example.com being sent in the HOST header.
   3. Custom. The service hostname is a different name than the one the origin server expects. For example, an end-user request for www.example.com.akamaized.net can set www.example.com as the value sent in the HOST header to your origin server.
5. Set the cache key hostname. The edge network uses cache keys to identify your cacheable content based on the entire origin URL path and query string:
   1. Incoming host header. Used if your origin server is a virtual server. Objects requested with the same path and query string are given a unique cache key by service hostname. For example, once cached, http://www.example.com/logo.gif and http://www.example.co.uk/logo.gif are treated as separate objects.
   2. Origin hostname. All objects requested with the same path and query string are treated as the same object, even for content served from other configurations with the same origin server hostname. For example, once cached, http://www.example.com/logo.gif and http://www.example.co.uk/logo.gif are treated as the same object.
   3. Custom.
6. Enable or disable gzip compression support. Enabling gzip compression can help optimize performance by reducing the size of cached objects. We recommend disabling this only if your origin server doesn’t support content delivery using gzip compression or if you prefer to serve uncompressed content. When enabled, edge servers send an Accept-Encoding: gzip header in requests to your origin server.
7. Enable or disable the sending of true client IP headers. This sends a custom header containing the IP address of the immediate client connecting to edge servers. This can provide more useful information than standard X-Forward-For headers, which can be modified by proxies.
8. Choose your origin SSL certificate verification settings. This controls how your origin server is authenticated and is intended to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks. Edge servers check to make sure the certificate sent by your origin server during the SSL handshake exactly matches a certificate or is signed by a certificate authority specified in your configuration:
   1. Use platform settings. Allows edge servers to choose settings on your behalf. Trusts certificates signed by any certificate authority listed in the Akamai Certificate Store. Settings are subject to change at any time.
   2. Choose your own certificate (recommended). Lets you maximize security by giving you direct control over which certificates edge servers should trust.
   3. Third-party certificate. Use this setting if you’re using a third-party origin like Amazon Web Services..
   4. Disable verification. Turns off origin SSL certificate verification.
9. Configure the connection ports for your origin server:
   1. HTTP port. The port on your origin server you want edge servers to connect to for HTTP requests. The standard port for HTTP is port 80.
   2. HTTPS port. The port on your origin server you want edge servers to connect to for HTTPS (SSL/TLS) requests. The standard port for HTTPS is port 443.
10. Review your origin configuration, and click Save.