Back to Home
Nginx logoNginx INTERMEDIATE

Nginx Essentials

Complete guide to Nginx web server configuration, reverse proxy, load balancing, and performance optimization

8 min read
nginxweb-serverreverse-proxyload-balancercachesslhttpperformance

Installation & Basic Commands

Installing and managing Nginx

Installation

Installing Nginx on different platforms

bash
🚀 Lightweight and high-performance web server
📦 Available in most package managers
🔧 Modular architecture with dynamic modules
⚡ Default config at /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

Basic Commands

Essential Nginx management commands

bash
✅ Always test config before reload with nginx -t
🔄 Reload applies changes without dropping connections
📁 Config files in /etc/nginx/ directory
📊 Logs in /var/log/nginx/ by default

Server Blocks & Virtual Hosts

Configuring server blocks for multiple sites

Basic Server Block

Setting up a basic server block

nginx
🌐 Server blocks host multiple sites on one server
📝 Each block needs unique server_name
🔗 Symlink from sites-available to sites-enabled
⚡ try_files directive for efficient file serving

SSL/TLS Configuration

Configuring HTTPS with SSL certificates

nginx
🔒 Always use HTTPS in production
📜 Let's Encrypt for free SSL certificates
⚡ HTTP/2 for better performance
🔐 HSTS header for forcing HTTPS

Reverse Proxy

Configuring Nginx as a reverse proxy

Basic Reverse Proxy

Proxying requests to backend servers

nginx
🔄 Forwards requests to backend servers
📡 Preserves client IP with X-Real-IP header
🔌 WebSocket support with connection upgrade
⚡ Can cache responses for better performance

Load Balancing

Distributing traffic across multiple servers

nginx
⚖️ Distributes load across multiple servers
🔄 Multiple load balancing algorithms available
💔 Automatic failover with health checks
🎯 Session persistence with ip_hash

Location Blocks & Rewrites

URL matching and request routing

Location Matching

Different types of location matching

nginx
🎯 Exact match (=) has highest priority
📝 Regex locations are evaluated in order
🔍 Use ^~ to prevent regex matching
⚡ Order matters for regex locations

URL Rewriting

Rewriting and redirecting URLs

nginx
🔄 rewrite changes URI internally
↪️ return sends redirect to client
🏁 break stops processing, last continues
🎯 Use try_files instead of if when possible

Caching & Performance

Optimizing Nginx for better performance

Caching Configuration

Setting up various caching strategies

nginx
💾 Multiple cache zones for different content
⚡ Microcaching for dynamic content
🔄 stale-while-revalidate for better UX
📊 X-Cache-Status header for debugging

Performance Tuning

Optimizing Nginx for high performance

nginx
⚙️ Tune worker_processes and worker_connections
🗜️ Enable gzip/brotli compression
📈 Use sendfile for static files
🚦 Implement rate limiting for protection

Security & Access Control

Securing your Nginx server

Security Best Practices

Essential security configurations

nginx
🔒 Always hide server version information
🛡️ Implement security headers
⚠️ Use rate limiting to prevent abuse
🔐 Restrict access to sensitive areas