Ubuntu Install Web Server Nginx


Ubuntu Install Web Server Nginx

Step 1: Install the Nginx Package

The first step when installing Nginx on Ubuntu is to install the Nginx package from the Ubuntu repository. This can be done with the following command:


sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nginx

This command will install the Nginx package and all its dependencies. It will also enable the Nginx service so it will start automatically when the system boots up.

Once the command has finished executing, you should check to make sure the Nginx service is running with the following command:


sudo service nginx status

If the service is running, you should see an output that looks something like this:


nginx is running

Step 2: Configure Nginx for Your Website

The next step is to configure Nginx for your website. This involves editing the Nginx configuration file, which is located at /etc/nginx/nginx.conf.

The default Nginx configuration file should look something like this:


server {
listen 80 default;
server_name _;
root /var/www/html;
index index.html index.htm;
}

The above configuration will serve any content located in the /var/www/html directory on the default port (80). If you have any other websites on the server, you can add additional “server” blocks to the Nginx configuration file and specify different settings for each one.

For example, if you had a website called example.com, you could add a “server” block like this to the Nginx configuration file:


server {
listen 80;
server_name example.com;
root /var/www/example.com;
index index.html index.htm;
}

The above configuration would serve any content located in the /var/www/example.com directory on the default port (80) for requests made to the domain example.com.

Step 3: Test Nginx

Once you’ve configured Nginx for your website, the next step is to test it. This can be done by running the following command:


sudo service nginx start

This will start the Nginx service and will serve any content located in the /var/www/html directory, or any other directories you have configured in the Nginx configuration file.

You can test the Nginx configuration is working by visiting your website in a web browser. If everything is working correctly, you should see a “Welcome to Nginx” page, displayed when you visit your website’s URL.

Step 4: Update Nginx Configuration

If you want to make changes to the Nginx configuration, you can edit the Nginx configuration file located at /etc/nginx/nginx.conf or create a separate file for your website’s configuration.

Once you’ve made your changes, you can test them by running the following command:


sudo service nginx restart

This will restart the Nginx service and will apply any changes you’ve made to the configuration.

Step 5: Secure Nginx

It’s important to secure your Nginx installation to prevent malicious users from gaining access to your server. The first step is to make sure the Nginx service is running as a non-privileged user.

You can configure the Nginx service to run as a non-privileged user by adding the following to the Nginx configuration file (located at /etc/nginx/nginx.conf):


user www www;

The above configuration will tell Nginx to run as the www user. The www user is a non-privileged user which has access to the necessary files and directories for Nginx to function correctly.

In addition to this, you should also configure Nginx to use TLS/SSL for secure connections. TLS/SSL will encrypt the requests and responses between the server and the client, preventing malicious users from intercepting or modifying them.

Step 6: Monitor Nginx

Last but not least, it’s important to monitor your Nginx installation for any errors or issues. You can do this by using the Nginx access and error logs located in the /var/log/nginx directory.

You can also use a log monitoring tool like Logchecker to monitor the logs in real-time and alert you if any errors or warnings occur.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we’ve shown you how to install and configure Nginx on Ubuntu. We’ve also discussed how to secure and monitor your Nginx installation. You should now have the knowledge required to properly install and configure Nginx on your Ubuntu server.

FAQs

Q1. How do I check if Nginx is running on my Ubuntu server?

The easiest way to check if Nginx is running on your Ubuntu server is to run the following command:


sudo service nginx status

If Nginx is running, you should see an output that looks something like this:


nginx is running

Q2. How do I secure my Nginx installation?

The best way to secure your Nginx installation is to make sure the Nginx service is running as a non-privileged user and to use TLS/SSL for secure connections.

Thank you for reading this article. Please read other articles related to Ubuntu installation.

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