Virtual Host Nginx Ubuntu 16.04
Introduction
A virtual host (also known as Virtual Private Server or VPS) is a service that allows a single physical server to host multiple websites. It is a great solution to provide flexibility and scalability for web hosting needs, especially for businesses that have multiple websites or require increased stability and security. In this guide, we will discuss the steps to configure Nginx as a virtual host on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus).
Prerequisites
Before you begin with this guide, you should have a non-root user with sudo privileges configured on your server. The user should have access to an active domain with DNS records pointing to the server. Additionally, you should have Nginx installed on the server. You can follow our guide to Install Nginx on Ubuntu 16.04 to accomplish this.
Step 1: Configure DNS Records
Before you can configure a virtual host, you need to configure the DNS records to point the domain to your server. Create an A record pointing your domain to the IP address of the server. For example, if the IP address of the server is 203.0.113.0, enter the following command to add the A record:
host -t A example.com 203.0.113.0
You can also use the DNS management tool provided by your domain registrar. If you need more information on how to add DNS records, you can refer to our guide on How To Set Up a Host Name with DigitalOcean.
Step 2: Create the Server Block
Next, you will need to create the server block file that will determine how the virtual host will handle requests. You can place this file in the /etc/nginx/sites-available directory. For our example, we will create a file for example.com:
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com
Inside the file, you will need to define the server block. A basic server block looks like this:
server {
listen 80;
listen [::]:80;
root /var/www/example.com;
index index.html index.htm index.nginx-debian.html;
server_name example.com www.example.com;
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
}
}
This block states that requests for example.com and www.example.com will be handled by this server block. The root directive indicates that files for this domain will be stored in the /var/www/example.com directory. The location directive indicates that the server should attempt to serve files in the requested location and, if it is unable to do so, should return a 404.
Step 3: Enable the Server Block
Once you have created the server block file, you need to enable it by creating a symbolic link from the sites-available directory to the sites-enabled directory. You can do this with the following command:
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
You can then test the configuration file for syntax errors with the following command:
sudo nginx -t
If the test is successful, reload Nginx with the following command:
sudo systemctl reload nginx
Step 4: Configure HTTPS
Once the virtual host is up and running, you can configure HTTPS to provide secure access to the site. You can obtain an SSL certificate for your domain by using Let’s Encrypt. You can find more information on how to configure HTTPS with Let’s Encrypt on our guide on How To Secure Nginx with Let’s Encrypt on Ubuntu 16.04.
Conclusion
We have discussed the steps to configure Nginx as a virtual host on Ubuntu 16.04. We have also discussed how to enable HTTPS for secure access to the site. You should now be able to easily configure virtual hosts on your server.
FAQ’s
- Q: What is a virtual host?
A: A virtual host (also known as Virtual Private Server or VPS) is a service that allows a single physical server to host multiple websites.
- Q: How do I configure Nginx as a virtual host?
A: You can configure Nginx as a virtual host by creating a server block file in the /etc/nginx/sites-available directory and linking it to the /etc/nginx/sites-enabled directory. You can then reload Nginx to bring the new configuration into effect.
- Q: How do I enable HTTPS for my virtual host?
A: You can secure your virtual host by obtaining an SSL certificate for your domain. This can be done by using Let’s Encrypt. You can find more information on how to configure HTTPS with Let’s Encrypt on our guide on How To Secure Nginx with Let’s Encrypt on Ubuntu 16.04.
Thank you for reading this article. Please read other articles to learn more.
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