Let’s Encrypt Nginx on Ubuntu 16.04
What is Let’s Encrypt?
Let’s Encrypt is an open source Certificate Authority (CA) for issuing free SSL/TLS certificates. SSL/TLS certificates are used to encrypt communications between a web server and a web browser. They can also be used by websites to authenticate their identity, providing trust in customers that they are dealing with the correct website. Having an SSL/TLS certificate is one of the most important security measures a website can implement. Let’s Encrypt provides a simpler and more secure solution for websites to make sure their communications remain private and secure.
What is Nginx?
Nginx (pronounced “engine x”) is an open source web server and reverse proxy software. It’s lightweight, efficient, and it has a large community of developers who are constantly making improvements. In addition to its web server capabilities, Nginx can also act as a mail proxy, load balancer, caching proxy, and more. It is often deployed alongside web applications to provide an extra layer of security and performance.
Prerequisites for Installing Let’s Encrypt on Nginx in Ubuntu 16.04
Before you begin, make sure you have the following configured and ready:
- A domain name pointed at a server running Ubuntu 16.04.
- A non-root user with sudo privileges.
- Nginx installed and configured.
Step 1 — Installing Certbot
The easiest way to install Let’s Encrypt certificates in Nginx on Ubuntu 16.04 is to use the Certbot client. Certbot is an automated client developed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). It can be used to generate SSL certificates and then automatically configure Nginx to use them.
Certbot is not available in Ubuntu’s default package repositories. To install it, we first need to add the repository provided by EFF. This repository is managed by a package called software-properties-common. To install it, run the following command:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:certbot/certbot
Once the repository is added to our system, we can install Certbot. To do so, run the following commands to update the local package index and then install Certbot and all of its dependencies:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install certbot python-certbot-nginx
Step 2 — Generating SSL Certificates
Once Certbot is installed, we can use it to generate SSL certificates for our domain. To do so, run the following command, replacing example.com with your domain name:
sudo certbot --nginx -d example.com
Certbot will prompt you to enter your email address and agree to the terms of service. After you answer these questions, Certbot will use the Nginx configuration you provided to generate a certificate. Once the certificate is generated, Certbot will automatically configure Nginx to use it.
Step 3 — Configuring Renewal
Let’s Encrypt certificates are only valid for 90 days. This means that they must be renewed periodically. To do this, we can create a cron job that will run the renewal command automatically. To create the job, open your crontab file with the following command:
sudo crontab -e
At the bottom of the file, add this line:
30 2 * * 1 certbot renew --quiet
This will run the renewal command every Monday at 2:30 am. This will ensure that your certificates are renewed before they expire.
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve shown you how to install Let’s Encrypt certificates in Nginx on Ubuntu 16.04. Let’s Encrypt provides an easy and secure way to protect your website with HTTPS encryption. We hope you’ve found this tutorial useful.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
-
Q: How often do Let’s Encrypt certificates need to be renewed?
A: Let’s Encrypt certificates are only valid for 90 days and must be renewed every 90 days.
-
Q: Is Nginx suitable for high traffic websites?
A: Yes, Nginx is suitable for high traffic websites because of its performance and scalability.
-
Q: Is it possible to use Let’s Encrypt for commercial websites?
A: Yes, Let’s Encrypt can be used on commercial websites.
Thank you for reading this article! Be sure to read other articles about web development.
Related Posts:
- Webmin Module For Nginx Web Server Webmin Module For Nginx Web Server Introduction to the Nginx Web Server Nginx is an open source web server and reverse proxy that offers powerful performance in a lightweight package.…
- Access To The Path Is Denied Nginx Ubuntu Access To The Path Is Denied Nginx Ubuntu What is the Problem? Access to the path is denied Nginx Ubuntu is an issue that can occur when running software that…
- Nginx This Site Can't Be Reached Refused To Connect Nginx This Site Can't Be Reached Refused To Connect About Nginx Nginx is web server software. It is used for hosting and serving websites online. It is very fast and…
- Create Self Signed Certificate Centos 7 Nginx Create Self Signed Certificate Centos 7 Nginx Introduction A self-signed certificate is an authentication mechanism in computing that allows a user to verify his or her identity without the need…
- Lets Encrypt Nginx Ubuntu 14.04 With Nginx Conf Custom Let's Encrypt Nginx Ubuntu 14.04 with Nginx Conf Custom Introduction to Nginx Conf Custom Nginx Conf Custom is an open source solution for hosting web applications on Ubuntu 14.04. It…
- Redirect To Www To Non Www Nginx Redirect To Www To Non Www Nginx What is Nginx? Nginx is a high-performance, open-source HTTP server which can also be used as a reverse proxy, load balancer and HTTP…
- Node Express Mongodb Nginx Digitalocean Node Express Mongodb Nginx Digitalocean Creating a Machine Through DigitalOcean Droplet Creating a DigitalOcean Droplet is the simplest and most fool-proof way of setting up a more secure and private…
- Laravel Nginx Not Custom Domain Laravel Nginx Not Custom Domain Overview of Laravel, Nginx, and Custom Domains Laravel is an open-source model-view-controller web application development framework written in PHP. It is the most popular framework…
- Certbot Errors Misconfigurationerror Nginx Restart Failed Certbot Errors Misconfigurationerror Nginx Restart Failed What Is Certbot? Certbot is a powerful and open-source tool, used to secure a web server. It is both easy and complicated to setup…
- Nginx Config File Proxy_Pass Also include FAQs at the end of the article Nginx Config File Proxy_Pass What is Nginx and Proxy_Pass? Nginx is an open-source web server software and Proxy_Pass is an nginx…
- Redirect Http To Https Nginx Redirect HTTP to HTTPS Nginx Why Should You Redirect HTTP to HTTPS Nginx? Many website owners are opting to use encrypted connections when delivering content to their visitors as a…
- Install Letsencrypt Debian 9 Nginx Install Letsencrypt Debian 9 Nginx What is Letsencrypt? Letsencrypt is an open source, free, automated SSL service that provides users with the ability to secure their websites and use HTTPS…
- How To Configure Nginx Debian How To Configure Nginx Debian Introduction to Nginx Debian Nginx is a web server and reverse proxy that is used to host websites and manage incoming traffic over the world…
- Nginx Config Proxy Pass Using Https Nginx Config Proxy Pass Using Https Introduction Nginx is an open source web server that contains robust and efficient config proxy pass feature for its users. It is designed to…
- Certbot Centos 7 Nginx Staging Certbot Centos 7 Nginx Staging: An Easy Step By Step Guide What Is Certbot? Certbot is a free, open-source software tool that allows you to easily obtain digital certificates from…
- How To Set Up Nginx Loadbalancer Ubuntu How To Set Up Nginx Loadbalancer Ubuntu Introduction to Nginx Loadbalancer Nginx Loadbalancer is a web application that lets you easily set up load balancing for your website. It is…
- Nginx Sub_Filter Honeypot Not Working Nginx Sub_Filter Honeypot Not Working What Is a Nginx Sub_Filter Honeypot? A Nginx Sub_Filter honeypot is an online tool designed to detect malicious bots and web attackers. By using this…
- Use Https As Default Nginx Use HTTPS as Default Nginx What is Nginx? Nginx is an open-source, high-performance, extensible web server and reverse proxy. It can be used as a web server to serve static…
- Install Wordpress On Ubuntu 18.04 Nginx Install WordPress On Ubuntu 18.04 Nginx Introduction To Ubuntu And Nginx Ubuntu is a popular open-source operating system which has gained immense popularity over the years. It is easy to…
- Vps Webserver Nginx Php7 Mysql Vps Webserver Nginx Php7 Mysql What Is VPS Webserver? A VPS webserver is a Virtual Private Server (VPS) that has been configured to act as a web server. A VPS…
- Nginx Multiple Web Sites One Ip Nginx Multiple Web Sites One Ip Introduction Nginx is a powerful and popular web server used by millions of websites and web application around the world. It is highly performant,…
- Nginx More Than 4 Config Nginx More Than 4 Config Basics of Nginx Nginx is a powerful, open source web server. It is designed to be both efficient and secure. It is used to animate…
- Enable Ip Public Access Via Browser Nginx Codeigniter Enable IP Public Access Via Browser Nginx Codeigniter Introduction to IP Public Access IP public access is a technology that gives internet users the ability to access websites or services…
- How To Setup Https On Nginx How To Setup Https On Nginx Why do you need TLS or SSL on Nginx? Using TLS or SSL on your Nginx webserver is important because it adds an extra…
- Create Wordpress With Nginx Mariadb Php-Fpm 16.04 Create WordPress With Nginx Mariadb Php-Fpm 16.04 What Is WordPress? WordPress is a content management system (CMS) and a blogging platform. It allows you to easily create and manage websites…
- Install Web Server Nginx Centos 7 Install Web Server Nginx Centos 7 Introduction Are you looking for a way to set up a web server on your Linux-based system? If so, then installing Nginx on CentOS…
- Ubuntu Server Postgresql Nginx Php Ubuntu Server Postgresql Nginx Php Introduction Optimizing your server is one of the most important steps you can take when it comes to running a successful website or application. It…
- Install Paid Ssl Nginx Ubuntu 18.04 Install Paid SSL Nginx Ubuntu 18.04 What Is Nginx? Nginx is an open-source web server and reverse proxy used in many applications worldwide. It is a lightweight, high-performance server that…
- Cloudflare Nginx 502 Bad Gateway Cloudflare Nginx 502 Bad Gateway What is a 502 Bad Gateway? A 502 Bad Gateway is an HTTP status code that indicates that the server is temporarily unable to process…
- Nginx Static Location For Multiple Django Nginx Static Location For Multiple Django What is Nginx? Nginx is an open source web server written in C that is well-known for its performance and speed. Nginx is one…