GitLab CE Installation

GitLab CE Installation on RHEL 9 / CentOS 9
GitLab Community Edition (CE) is a powerful, self-hosted DevOps platform that provides Git repository management, CI/CD pipelines, artifact storage, container registry, issue tracking, and more. This guide walks you through installing GitLab CE on RHEL 9 / CentOS 9, configuring a custom external URL, and implementing SSL/TLS using Apache (httpd) as a reverse proxy.

1. Install Required Dependencies
Before installing GitLab, ensure your system has the required packages.
# dnf install -y curl policycoreutils openssh-server openssh-clients

2. Add GitLab CE Repository
Use GitLab’s official repository installation script.
# curl -sS https://packages.gitlab.com/install/repositories/gitlab/gitlab-ce/script.rpm.sh | sudo bash

3. Install GitLab CE
# dnf install -y gitlab-ce
This installs all required GitLab components, including NGINX (bundled), Redis, and PostgreSQL.

4. Configure GitLab URL
Edit the primary GitLab configuration file:
# vim /etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb
Add or modify the external URL:
external_url 'http://www.gitlab.ppc.com'
Save and exit.

5. Reconfigure GitLab
Run the reconfiguration command to generate configurations and start services.
# gitlab-ctl reconfigure
GitLab will now be accessible at:
http://server-hostname
http://server-IP-address

SSL/TLS Implementation Using Apache (httpd)
GitLab comes with a built-in NGINX server, but many enterprises prefer using Apache for SSL termination and reverse proxying.
Below is how to configure Apache with SSL for GitLab.

6. Install Apache HTTP Server
# dnf install -y httpd mod_ssl
# systemctl enable httpd
# systemctl start httpd

7. Generate or Install SSL Certificates
You can use:
Self-signed Certificates (testing)
Let's Encrypt (production)
CA-signed Certificates (enterprise)

To generate a self-signed certificate:
# openssl req -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes -keyout /etc/pki/tls/private/gitlab.key -x509 -days 365 -out /etc/pki/tls/certs/gitlab.crt

8. Configure Apache Reverse Proxy for GitLab
Create a new Apache configuration file:
# vim /etc/httpd/conf.d/gitlab.conf
Add the following configuration:
<VirtualHost *:443>
ServerName www.gitlab.ppc.com

SSLEngine on
SSLCertificateFile /etc/pki/tls/certs/gitlab.crt
SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/pki/tls/private/gitlab.key

ProxyPreserveHost On

<Location />    --Optional if any port define  Example
ProxyPass http://127.0.0.1:8080/
ProxyPassReverse http://127.0.0.1:8080/
</Location>
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerName www.gitlab.ppc.com
Redirect permanent / https://gitlab.ppc.com/
</VirtualHost>

Save and exit.

9. Adjust SELinux Policies (if enabled)
# setsebool -P httpd_can_network_connect 1

10. Restart Apache
# systemctl restart httpd
You can now access GitLab using HTTPS:
https://www.gitlab.ppc.com

Conclusion
You have successfully installed GitLab CE on RHEL 9 / CentOS 9, configured the external URL, and set up SSL/TLS security using Apache as a reverse proxy. With GitLab now running securely, you can begin creating repositories, configuring CI/CD pipelines, managing runners, and integrating GitLab with your DevOps ecosystem.