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Nginx, a popular open-source web server, excels at handling high traffic websites efficiently. One of its powerful features is the ability to host multiple websites on a single server using server blocks. This allows you to manage different domains or applications on the same machine, maximizing resource utilization.
This guide will walk you through setting up secure Nginx server blocks on Ubuntu 22.04. We’ll cover essential steps, security best practices, and additional recommendations for a robust web hosting environment.
Begin by updating your system’s package list and installing Nginx:
sudo apt update sudo apt install nginx
If you have a firewall enabled (like UFW), you’ll need to allow access to port 80 (default HTTP port) for Nginx to function:
sudo ufw allow http sudo ufw enable
Open a web browser and navigate to your server’s IP address. You should see the default Nginx welcome page.
Nginx stores server block configurations in separate files. Let’s create a directory structure for your website:
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/<your_domain_name>/html sudo mkdir -p /etc/nginx/sites-available/<your_domain_name>
<your_domain_name> with your actual domain name.sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/<your_domain_name> sudo chmod 755 /var/www/<your_domain_name>
www-data user (used by Nginx) and sets appropriate permissions for file access.nano /var/www/<your_domain_name>/html/index.html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Welcome to your website!</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Your website is up and running!</h1>
</body>
</html> sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/<your_domain_name>
server {
listen 80; # Adjust port if needed
server_name <your_domain_name>; # Your domain name
location / {
root /var/www/<your_domain_name>/html;
index index.html index.htm;
}
# Security Recommendations (add these sections)
access_log /var/log/nginx/<your_domain_name>-access.log;
error_log /var/log/nginx/<your_domain_name>-error.log;
} listen: Defines the port on which the server block listens for incoming connections.server_name: Specifies the domain name(s) that this server block serves.location /: Defines how requests for a specific location (URI) are handled.root: Sets the directory that contains the website’s files.index: Lists files that Nginx should serve when a directory is requested without a specific filename.access_log directive enables logging of all requests to the specified file. This helps with troubleshooting and security analysis.error_log directive logs any errors encountered by Nginx while processing requests. This aids in identifying issues with your website or server configuration.While a well-configured server block lays the groundwork for your website, Nginx itself offers optimization options to handle traffic more efficiently. Here are some key areas to consider:
/etc/nginx/nginx.conf) specifies the number of worker processes that Nginx can spawn. These processes handle incoming connections and requests. Tuning this value based on your server’s hardware (CPU cores) can optimize resource utilization.proxy_cache directive enables caching functionality.gzip directive within a server block activates this feature.client_buffer_size and proxy_buffer_size control these settings.Remember: Optimization is an ongoing process. Monitor your server performance using tools like top or htop to identify bottlenecks and experiment with different configurations to find the optimal settings for your specific website and traffic patterns.
You can see our article about comparison of NGINX with other web servers.
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