Not OP, and also not a web server genius, but I read OP's comment as allowing server administers to write policy in OPA then just using https://github.com/microsoft/regorus/ to determine whether to allow or forbid the connection. The web server author can clearly document what is available in input/data to be checked against in the policy. Is it really more complicated than that?
I honestly don't know. I'm in the same place as you: not a web server expert. But I did spend a bunch of time in security a while ago, so maybe it's my own bias to be sceptical of anyone who casually suggests building and implementing their own boundary security solutions.
As well as that, the idea that the language any software is written in is largely irrelevant, especially in the context of performance, is not at all obvious or intuitive to me. I get that it would look that way if you reduce a web server down its core functionality. But that also is a common mistake in educated but inexperienced early career software engineers.
I don't know this stuff, but I know enough to know how well I don't know this stuff. I'm trying to work out if the stuff I'm reading is from someone who I should learn from, or if it's from someone with a lot of confidence but limited experience. It could be either, I'm sincerely on the fence, but a git repo of their web server would help clear it up for me personally.
> Is it really more complicated than that?
I can't say without really doing a thorough review. Even if regorus is 100% reliable rules engine, my understanding is it's a rules engine. I assume there's still a bunch of custom integration needed to manage and source the rules, feed them to the engine, and then implement the result effectively and safely across the web server. It can be done quickly and easily, but to consider everything and be confident it's done correctly and securely? I don't think that can be done trivially by the average human without some compromise.
