Nginx: Introduction

Nginx (pronounced “engine-x”) is a high-performance web server known for its speed, reliability, and flexibility. It’s not just a web server—it’s also a reverse proxy, load balancer, and API gateway. Whether you’re serving static files, forwarding requests, or handling massive traffic loads, Nginx has your back.

Key Use Cases:#

• Web Server: Efficiently serves static and dynamic content.
• Reverse Proxy: Forwards client requests to backend servers.
• Load Balancer: Distributes traffic across multiple servers.
• API Gateway: Manages and secures API traffic.

Differences Between Nginx and Apache:#

Installation and Basic Configuration#

Installing Nginx on Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)#

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx -y

Installing Nginx on CentOS/RHEL#

sudo yum install epel-release -y
sudo yum install nginx -y

Starting and Enabling Nginx#

sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

Verifying Installation#

ginx -v

Checking Nginx Status#

sudo systemctl status nginx

Understanding Nginx Architecture#

Key Components:#

• Master Process: Manages worker processes.
• Worker Processes: Handle client requests asynchronously.
• Event-Driven Architecture: Efficient, non-blocking request handling.

Configuration File Locations:#

• Main Configuration File: /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
• Site-Specific Configs: /etc/nginx/sites-available/

Basic Structure of an Nginx Configuration File:#

worker_processes auto;
http {
    server {
        listen 80;
        server_name example.com;
        root /var/www/html;
        index index.html;
    }
}

Hands-On Exercise#

• Install and verify Nginx on your system.
• Start and enable the Nginx service.
• Modify and reload Nginx configuration.
• Check Nginx logs for troubleshooting:

sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/access.log
sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log