Install Nginx On Ubuntu 16.04 Terminal

Nginx (pronounced “engine x”) is a lightweight web server that is becoming the most popular way to serve content on the web. It is fast, flexible and secure. It can be used to serve static content, proxy requests, and act as a reverse proxy server. In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Nginx on an Ubuntu 16.04 server.

How To Install Nginx On Ubuntu 16.04

The first step is to install Nginx on your Ubuntu 16.04 server. To do this, we will use the apt package manager. We will also install a few packages that are necessary for the installation of Nginx. To do this, use the following command:

$ apt-get install nginx

You will be prompted to confirm the installation. Enter Y and hit enter. If you already have Nginx installed, you should see the following message:

Package nginx is already installed and latest version

Once the installation is complete, you will need to start the Nginx service. To do this, use the following command:

$ systemctl start nginx.service

You can now verify that Nginx is running by using the following command:

$ systemctl status nginx.service

You should see the following output:

Active: active (running) since Fri 2017-05-19 09:37:40 UTC; 4min 36s ago

This indicates that the Nginx service is running. You can also confirm this by visiting your server’s public IP address in your web browser. You should see the following message on your browser:

Welcome to nginx!

How To Configure Nginx on Ubuntu 16.04

Now that we have installed Nginx, let’s configure it. We will be configuring Nginx to serve static content from a directory. This directory will be served by Nginx when a user visits your domain name in their browser. To do this, we will create a new configuration file. To do this, use the following command:

$ nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com

This will open a new file in the nano text editor. You will need to paste the following content in the file:

server {
listen 80;
server_name example.com;
root /var/www/example.com;
index index.html;
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
}
}

Once you save and close the file, you will need to enable the new configuration file by symlinking it to the sites-enabled directory. To do this, use the following command:

$ ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/example.com

Now, test the configuration file for any syntax errors using the following command:

$ nginx -t

If there are no errors, you can reload the Nginx service for the changes to take effect. To do this, use the following command:

$ systemctl reload nginx.service

Now, if you visit your domain name in your web browser, you should see the content from the directory you have configured.

How To Configure Nginx For Reverse Proxying

Nginx can also be used to configure a reverse proxy. This will allow you to forward requests to a different server. To do this, you will need to create a new configuration file. To do this, use the following command:

$ nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com.conf

This will open the new file in the nano text editor. Paste the following content in the file:

server {
listen 80;
server_name example.com;
root /var/www/example.com;
index index.html;
location / {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080;
}
}

Once you save and close the file, you will need to enable the new configuration file by symlinking it to the sites-enabled directory. To do this, use the following command:

$ ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/example.com.conf

Now, test the configuration file for any syntax errors using the following command:

$ nginx -t

If there are no errors, you can reload the Nginx service for the changes to take effect. To do this, use the following command:

$ systemctl reload nginx.service

Now, if you visit your domain name in your web browser, you should be redirected to the server that your reverse proxy is configured to forward the requests to.

How To Secure Nginx On Ubuntu 16.04

Nginx can be secured using SSL/TLS and various other security measures. Here, we will discuss a few methods for securing your Nginx installation on Ubuntu 16.04.

Restricting Access Based On IP Address

Nginx offers the ability to restrict access to your server based on the IP address of the user. To do this, edit the Nginx configuration file. Add the following lines to your configuration file:

allow ;
deny all;

Replace with the IP address of your server. Save and close the file. Then, reload the Nginx service for the changes to take effect. To do this, use the following command:

$ systemctl reload nginx.service

Now, only the IP addresses specified in the configuration file will be allowed to access your server.

Using SSL/TLS Certificates

SSL/TLS can be used to encrypt the communication between your server and the client. To do this, you will need to generate a valid SSL/TLS certificate. You can do this using the Let’s Encrypt tool. To do this, use the following command:

$ certbot --nginx -d example.com

Once the certificate is generated, you will need to configure your Nginx server to use the certificate. To do this, edit the Nginx configuration file. Add the following lines:

ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/fullchain.pem;
ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/privkey.pem;

Save and close the file. Then, reload the Nginx service for the changes to take effect. To do this, use the following command:

$ systemctl reload nginx.service

Now, all your data will be encrypted and secured using SSL/TLS certificates.

How To Secure Nginx With Firewall

You can also use a firewall to secure your Nginx server. U