nginx-basic-setup

When to Use

When you need to set up a web server, reverse proxy, or load balancer for web applications.

Prerequisites

• Ubuntu/Debian or CentOS/RHEL system with sudo access
• Basic understanding of web servers and HTTP

Procedure

1. Update package manager: sudo apt update (Ubuntu/Debian) or sudo yum update (CentOS/RHEL)
2. Install nginx: sudo apt install nginx (Ubuntu/Debian) or sudo yum install nginx (CentOS/RHEL)
3. Start and enable nginx service: sudo systemctl start nginx && sudo systemctl enable nginx
4. Check nginx status: sudo systemctl status nginx
5. Configure firewall if needed: sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full' (Ubuntu) or sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http && sudo firewall-cmd --reload (CentOS)
6. Test default installation: Open browser and navigate to http://your-server-ip
7. Edit main configuration: sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
8. Create custom site configuration: sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/mysite
9. Enable site: sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/mysite /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
10. Test configuration: sudo nginx -t
11. Reload nginx: sudo systemctl reload nginx

Verification

• Browser shows nginx welcome page at server IP
• sudo nginx -t returns "syntax is ok" and "test is successful"
• curl -I http://your-server-ip returns HTTP 200 status

Pitfalls

• Forgetting to test configuration before reloading can break the service
• Port 80/443 might be blocked by firewall
• Configuration syntax errors will prevent nginx from starting
• Multiple server blocks with same server_name can cause conflicts

Sources

• https://nginx.org/
• https://www.f5.com/products/nginx
• https://github.com/nginx/nginx
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nginx
• https://www.reddit.com/r/nginx/comments/mvatwk/what_is_nginx_explain_to_me_like_im_5_because_im/