Varnish is a powerful HTTP accelerator that sits in front of your web server and caches content to deliver lightning-fast page loads.
In this guide, we’ll walk through how to set up Varnish Cache for Magento 2 with Apache (via WHM/cPanel) and configure Varnish 7.7 for optimal caching performance.
This setup ensures seamless integration with Magento’s Full Page Cache and significantly improves page speed.

Step 1: Enable Maintenance Mode

Before making configuration changes, enable maintenance mode to avoid disruptions:

bin/magento maintenance:enable

Step 2: Install Varnish 7.7

1. Check if Available

dnf info varnish

2. Install (if package available)

dnf install varnish-7.7*

3. Add Repo (if package not found)

If 7.7 isn’t available, add the official repo:

dnf install -y "https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-$(rpm -E %rhel).noarch.rpm"

Then create a repo file:

tee /etc/yum.repos.d/varnishcache_varnish77.repo > /dev/null <<-EOF
[varnishcache_varnish77]
name=varnishcache_varnish77
baseurl=https://packagecloud.io/varnishcache/varnish77/el/${VERSION_ID%%.*}/$(arch)
repo_gpgcheck=0
gpgcheck=0
enabled=1
gpgkey=https://packagecloud.io/varnishcache/varnish77/gpgkey
sslverify=1
sslcacert=/etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt
metadata_expire=300
EOF

Install Varnish:

dnf install varnish-7.7*

Step 3: Change Listening Ports

Since Varnish will run on port 80, Apache must be moved to a different port (e.g., 8080).

1. Update Varnish Configuration

Edit the systemd service file:

sudo nano /usr/lib/systemd/system/varnish.service

Replace the ExecStart line with:

ExecStart=/usr/sbin/varnishd \
  -a :80 \
  -a localhost:8443,PROXY \
  -p feature=+http2 \
  -f /etc/varnish/default.vcl \
  -s malloc,2g

2. Update Apache Configuration (via WHM)

  1. Log in to WHM as root.
  2. Navigate to
    Home ➤ Server Configuration ➤ Tweak Settings ➤ System tab
  3. Find “Apache non-SSL IP/port” and change it to: :8080
  4. Save changes.

3. Restart Services after change listening ports

To apply the new configuration:

systemctl restart httpd
systemctl restart varnish

Step 4: Enable Varnish in Magento Admin

  1. Go to Stores ➤ Configuration ➤ Advanced ➤ System
  2. Expand Full Page Cache
  3. Set Caching Application to Varnish Cache
  4. Click Save Config

Step 5: Set Up Varnish Cache for Magento 2 with Apache Configuration

Magento automatically provides a ready-to-use Varnish configuration file (VCL) that matches your store setup.
This file defines how Magento and Varnish interact — caching rules, ESI blocks, cookies, and headers.

1. Generate the VCL File in Magento Admin

  1. Go to Stores ➤ Configuration ➤ Advanced ➤ System
  2. Expand the Full Page Cache section
  3. In Caching Application, select Varnish Cache
  4. Scroll down to the Export Configuration section
  5. Set your preferred Access list, Backend host, and Backend port (usually 127.0.0.1 and 8080)
  6. Save Config
  7. Click the Export VCL for Varnish 7 button
    Magento will generate and download a file named like: varnish.vcl

This file is automatically adapted for your Magento version and store configuration.

2. Apply the Generated VCL File on the Server

  1. Open your active Varnish configuration: nano /etc/varnish/default.vcl
  2. Delete all existing contents.
  3. Paste in the contents of the varnish.vcl file you just exported.
  4. Save and exit (Ctrl + O, Ctrl + X).

3. Restart Services after change Varnish configuration

To apply the new configuration:

systemctl restart httpd
systemctl restart varnish

Step 6: Flush Magento Cache

bin/magento cache:flush

Step 7: Disable Maintenance Mode

Once everything is working:

bin/magento maintenance:disable

Step 8: Verification

Run the following commands to ensure Varnish is working correctly:

curl -I https://yourdomain.com | grep X-Magento-Cache-Debug

You should see:

X-Magento-Cache-Debug: HIT

If you see MISS, it means the page is being cached for the first time — reload to confirm.

Summary

You’ve now successfully:

  • Installed Varnish 7.7
  • Configured it to run on port 80
  • Moved Apache to port 8080
  • Connected Varnish with Magento Full Page Cache
  • Deployed Magento’s custom VCL configuration

This setup ensures Magento pages are served in milliseconds, improving both LCP metrics and server efficiency.

External References