Nginx configuration and optimization
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Scanned 2/12/2026
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---
name: nginx
description: Nginx configuration and optimization
version: 1.0.0
author: terminal-skills
tags: [server, nginx, web, proxy, load-balancer]
---
# Nginx Configuration and Optimization
## Overview
Nginx web server configuration, reverse proxy, load balancing, performance optimization and other skills.
## Basic Management
### Service Control
```bash
# Start/Stop services
systemctl start nginx
systemctl stop nginx
systemctl restart nginx
systemctl reload nginx # Graceful reload config
# Configuration test
nginx -t
nginx -T # Test and print config
```
### Configuration Files
```bash
# Main configuration file
/etc/nginx/nginx.conf
# Site configuration
/etc/nginx/conf.d/*.conf
/etc/nginx/sites-available/
/etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
# Log files
/var/log/nginx/access.log
/var/log/nginx/error.log
```
## Basic Configuration
### Static Website
```nginx
server {
listen 80;
server_name example.com www.example.com;
root /var/www/html;
index index.html index.htm;
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
}
# Static resource caching
location ~* \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|ico|css|js)$ {
expires 30d;
add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
}
}
```
### HTTPS Configuration
```nginx
server {
listen 443 ssl http2;
server_name example.com;
ssl_certificate /etc/nginx/ssl/cert.pem;
ssl_certificate_key /etc/nginx/ssl/key.pem;
# SSL optimization
ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
ssl_ciphers ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256;
ssl_prefer_server_ciphers off;
ssl_session_cache shared:SSL:10m;
ssl_session_timeout 1d;
# HSTS
add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000" always;
}
# HTTP redirect to HTTPS
server {
listen 80;
server_name example.com;
return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}
```
## Reverse Proxy
### Basic Proxy
```nginx
server {
listen 80;
server_name api.example.com;
location / {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
}
}
```
### WebSocket Proxy
```nginx
location /ws {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_read_timeout 86400;
}
```
## Load Balancing
### Basic Configuration
```nginx
upstream backend {
server 192.168.1.10:8080 weight=3;
server 192.168.1.11:8080 weight=2;
server 192.168.1.12:8080 backup;
}
server {
listen 80;
location / {
proxy_pass http://backend;
proxy_next_upstream error timeout http_500;
}
}
```
### Load Balancing Strategies
```nginx
# Round Robin (default)
upstream backend {
server 192.168.1.10:8080;
server 192.168.1.11:8080;
}
# IP Hash (session persistence)
upstream backend {
ip_hash;
server 192.168.1.10:8080;
server 192.168.1.11:8080;
}
# Least Connections
upstream backend {
least_conn;
server 192.168.1.10:8080;
server 192.168.1.11:8080;
}
# Health Check
upstream backend {
server 192.168.1.10:8080 max_fails=3 fail_timeout=30s;
server 192.168.1.11:8080 max_fails=3 fail_timeout=30s;
}
```
## Performance Optimization
### Basic Optimization
```nginx
# nginx.conf
worker_processes auto;
worker_rlimit_nofile 65535;
events {
worker_connections 65535;
use epoll;
multi_accept on;
}
http {
# File transfer optimization
sendfile on;
tcp_nopush on;
tcp_nodelay on;
# Timeout settings
keepalive_timeout 65;
client_body_timeout 12;
client_header_timeout 12;
send_timeout 10;
# Buffer settings
client_body_buffer_size 10K;
client_header_buffer_size 1k;
client_max_body_size 8m;
large_client_header_buffers 4 32k;
}
```
### Gzip Compression
```nginx
gzip on;
gzip_vary on;
gzip_proxied any;
gzip_comp_level 6;
gzip_min_length 1000;
gzip_types text/plain text/css text/xml application/json application/javascript application/xml;
```
## Common Scenarios
### Scenario 1: PHP-FPM Configuration
```nginx
server {
listen 80;
server_name example.com;
root /var/www/html;
index index.php index.html;
location ~ \.php$ {
fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php-fpm.sock;
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
include fastcgi_params;
}
}
```
### Scenario 2: Rate Limiting
```nginx
# Define rate limit zone
limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=api:10m rate=10r/s;
server {
location /api/ {
limit_req zone=api burst=20 nodelay;
proxy_pass http://backend;
}
}
```
### Scenario 3: Access Control
```nginx
location /admin {
allow 192.168.1.0/24;
deny all;
auth_basic "Admin Area";
auth_basic_user_file /etc/nginx/.htpasswd;
}
```
## Troubleshooting
| Problem | Solution |
|---------|----------|
| Configuration error | `nginx -t` to test config |
| 502 Bad Gateway | Check backend service, upstream config |
| 504 Gateway Timeout | Increase proxy_read_timeout |
| Permission issues | Check file permissions, SELinux |
| Performance issues | Check worker_connections, log analysis |
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