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Purushotam Adhikari
Purushotam Adhikari

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Comprehensive Nginx Setup Guide: From Installation to SSL Configuration

#nginx #webdev #devops #learning

Introduction

Nginx is a powerful, high-performance web server that can also function as a reverse proxy, load balancer, and HTTP cache. In this guide, we'll walk through a step-by-step process of installing Nginx, configuring your domain, and setting up SSL to secure your web application.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, ensure you have:

  • A Linux server (Ubuntu/Debian recommended)
  • Root or sudo access
  • Basic terminal knowledge
  • A registered domain name

Step 1: Nginx Installation

For Ubuntu/Debian: 

# Update package lists sudo apt update # Install Nginx sudo apt install nginx # Start Nginx service sudo systemctl start nginx # Enable Nginx to start on boot sudo systemctl enable nginx # Check Nginx status sudo systemctl status nginx
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For CentOS/RHEL: 

# Install Nginx sudo yum install epel-release sudo yum install nginx # Start Nginx service sudo systemctl start nginx # Enable Nginx to start on boot sudo systemctl enable nginx # Check Nginx status sudo systemctl status nginx
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Step 2: Firewall Configuration

Open HTTP and HTTPS ports to allow web traffic:

For UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall): 

# Allow HTTP and HTTPS sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'
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For FirewallD: 

# Open HTTP and HTTPS ports sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=https sudo firewall-cmd --reload
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Step 3: Domain Configuration

Create a Server Block

Create a new server block configuration for your domain:

# Create directory for your domain sudo mkdir -p /var/www/yourdomain.com/html # Set proper permissions sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/yourdomain.com/html sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/yourdomain.com
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Create Nginx configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/yourdomain.com
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Add the following configuration:

server { listen 80; listen [::]:80; server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com; root /var/www/yourdomain.com/html; index index.html index.htm; location / { try_files $uri $uri/ =404; } }
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Create a symlink to enable the site:

# Create symlink sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/yourdomain.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/ # Test Nginx configuration sudo nginx -t # Restart Nginx sudo systemctl restart nginx
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Step 4: SSL Setup with Certbot

Install Certbot 

# For Ubuntu sudo apt update sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx # For CentOS sudo yum install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
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Obtain SSL Certificate 

# Obtain and install certificate sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com
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During installation, Certbot will:

  • Validate domain ownership
  • Generate SSL certificates
  • Update Nginx configuration automatically
  • Set up automatic certificate renewal

Verify Auto-Renewal 

# Test renewal process sudo certbot renew --dry-run
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Step 5: Additional Security Configurations

Update your Nginx configuration for enhanced security:

server { listen 443 ssl http2; listen [::]:443 ssl http2; server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com; ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem; ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/privkey.pem; # Strong SSL settings ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3; ssl_prefer_server_ciphers on; ssl_ciphers EECDH+AESGCM:EDH+AESGCM; ssl_ecdh_curve secp384r1; ssl_session_timeout 10m; ssl_session_cache shared:SSL:10m; ssl_session_tickets off; ssl_stapling on; ssl_stapling_verify on; # Redirect HTTP to HTTPS if ($scheme != "https") { return 301 https://$host$request_uri; } }
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Conclusion

Congratulations! You've successfully installed Nginx, configured your domain, and set up SSL encryption. Your web server is now secure, performant, and ready to host your applications.

Additional Tips

  • Regularly update Nginx and your system
  • Monitor server logs
  • Keep SSL certificates up to date
  • Consider implementing additional security measures like fail2ban

Troubleshooting

  • Check Nginx logs: sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log
  • Verify configuration: sudo nginx -t
  • Restart service: sudo systemctl restart nginx

Happy hosting!

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