Install Nginx on Ubuntu, CentOS, RHEL, and AlmaLinux - Complete Guide

Nginx (pronounced "engine-x") is a high-performance, open-source web server and reverse proxy server known for its stability, rich feature set, simple configuration, and low resource consumption. Originally developed by Igor Sysoev in 2004, Nginx has become one of the most popular web servers worldwide, powering millions of websites including high-traffic sites like Netflix, Dropbox, and WordPress.com.

This comprehensive guide provides step-by-step instructions for installing and configuring Nginx on Ubuntu, CentOS, RHEL, and AlmaLinux systems. Whether you're setting up a development environment or deploying a production server, this tutorial covers everything you need to know.

What is Nginx?

Nginx (Engine-X) is a powerful, open-source web server that also functions as a reverse proxy, load balancer, mail proxy, and HTTP cache. Unlike traditional web servers that use a threaded or process-based architecture, Nginx uses an asynchronous, event-driven architecture that enables it to handle thousands of concurrent connections with minimal memory usage.

Key Features of Nginx

High Performance: Capable of handling over 10,000 concurrent connections
Low Memory Usage: Efficient memory management with predictable resource consumption
Reverse Proxy: Can act as a proxy server for HTTP, HTTPS, SMTP, POP3, and IMAP protocols
Load Balancing: Distributes incoming requests across multiple backend servers
SSL/TLS Termination: Handles SSL encryption and decryption
Static Content Serving: Optimized for serving static files (images, CSS, JavaScript)
Caching: Built-in content caching capabilities
Modular Architecture: Extensive module ecosystem for additional functionality

Nginx vs Apache

Feature	Nginx	Apache
Architecture	Event-driven, asynchronous	Process/thread-based
Memory Usage	Low	Higher
Static Content	Excellent	Good
Dynamic Content	Requires PHP-FPM	Built-in PHP module
Configuration	Simple, readable	Complex
Modules	Compiled-in	Dynamic loading

Prerequisites

Before installing Nginx, ensure your system meets the following requirements:

System Requirements

Ubuntu: 18.04 LTS, 20.04 LTS, or 22.04 LTS
CentOS: Version 7, 8, or Stream
RHEL: Version 7, 8, or 9
AlmaLinux: Version 8 or 9
Root or sudo access: Administrative privileges required
Internet connection: For downloading packages

Recommended Specifications

RAM: Minimum 512MB (1GB+ recommended for production)
Storage: At least 1GB free space
CPU: Any modern x86_64 processor

Installing Nginx on Ubuntu

Method 1: Installing from Default Repository

Ubuntu's default repositories include stable versions of Nginx:

Step 1: Update System Packages

bash

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Nginx

bash

sudo apt install nginx -y

Step 3: Start and Enable Nginx

bash

sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

Step 4: Verify Installation

bash

sudo systemctl status nginx

Method 2: Installing from Official Nginx Repository

For the latest stable version, use the official Nginx repository:

Step 1: Install Prerequisites

bash

sudo apt install curl gnupg2 ca-certificates lsb-release -y

Step 2: Add Nginx Signing Key

bash

curl -fsSL https://nginx.org/keys/nginx_signing.key | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg

Step 3: Add Nginx Repository

bash

echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg] http://nginx.org/packages/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) nginx" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nginx.list

Step 4: Update and Install

bash

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx -y

Configuring Firewall on Ubuntu

bash

# Allow Nginx through UFW firewall
sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'
sudo ufw status

Installing Nginx on CentOS/RHEL/AlmaLinux

For CentOS 7 / RHEL 7

Step 1: Enable EPEL Repository

bash

sudo yum install epel-release -y
sudo yum update -y

Step 2: Install Nginx

bash

sudo yum install nginx -y

Step 3: Start and Enable Nginx

bash

sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

For CentOS 8 / RHEL 8 / AlmaLinux 8

Step 1: Enable PowerTools Repository (if needed)

bash

# For CentOS 8
sudo dnf config-manager --set-enabled powertools

# For RHEL 8
sudo subscription-manager repos --enable codeready-builder-for-rhel-8-x86_64-rpms

# For AlmaLinux 8
sudo dnf config-manager --set-enabled powertools

Step 2: Install Nginx

bash

sudo dnf install nginx -y

Step 3: Start and Enable Nginx

bash

sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

For CentOS Stream / RHEL 9 / AlmaLinux 9

Step 1: Install Nginx

bash

sudo dnf install nginx -y

Step 2: Start and Enable Nginx

bash

sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

Configuring Firewall on CentOS/RHEL/AlmaLinux

bash

# For firewalld (default on CentOS/RHEL/AlmaLinux)
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=https
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

# Verify firewall rules
sudo firewall-cmd --list-all

SELinux Configuration

If SELinux is enabled, configure it for Nginx:

bash

# Check SELinux status
sestatus

# Allow Nginx to bind to network ports
sudo setsebool -P httpd_can_network_connect 1

# Set SELinux context for web content
sudo setsebool -P httpd_can_network_relay 1

Basic Nginx Configuration

Understanding Nginx Directory Structure

Ubuntu Directory Structure

text

/etc/nginx/                 # Main configuration directory
├── nginx.conf             # Main configuration file
├── sites-available/       # Available virtual host configurations
├── sites-enabled/         # Enabled virtual host configurations (symlinks)
├── conf.d/                # Additional configuration files
└── snippets/              # Configuration snippets

CentOS/RHEL/AlmaLinux Directory Structure

text

/etc/nginx/                 # Main configuration directory
├── nginx.conf             # Main configuration file
├── conf.d/                # Virtual host configurations
└── default.d/             # Default configuration files

Basic Configuration File

Edit the main Nginx configuration file:

bash

# Ubuntu
sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

# CentOS/RHEL/AlmaLinux
sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

Essential Configuration Settings

nginx

# /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

user nginx;  # or www-data on Ubuntu
worker_processes auto;
error_log /var/log/nginx/error.log;
pid /run/nginx.pid;

events {
    worker_connections 1024;
    use epoll;
    multi_accept on;
}

http {
    log_format main '$remote_addr - $remote_user [$time_local] "$request" '
                    '$status $body_bytes_sent "$http_referer" '
                    '"$http_user_agent" "$http_x_forwarded_for"';

    access_log /var/log/nginx/access.log main;

    sendfile on;
    tcp_nopush on;
    tcp_nodelay on;
    keepalive_timeout 65;
    types_hash_max_size 2048;
    server_tokens off;

    include /etc/nginx/mime.types;
    default_type application/octet-stream;

    # Gzip compression
    gzip on;
    gzip_vary on;
    gzip_min_length 1024;
    gzip_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript 
               text/xml application/xml application/xml+rss text/javascript;

    # Include virtual host configs
    include /etc/nginx/conf.d/*.conf;
    include /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/*;  # Ubuntu only
}

Creating a Simple Virtual Host

For Ubuntu

Create a new site configuration:

bash

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

nginx

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    
    server_name example.com www.example.com;
    root /var/www/example.com;
    index index.html index.htm index.nginx-debian.html;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }

    # Security headers
    add_header X-Content-Type-Options nosniff;
    add_header X-Frame-Options DENY;
    add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block";

    # Logging
    access_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.access.log;
    error_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.error.log;
}

Enable the site:

bash

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

For CentOS/RHEL/AlmaLinux

Create a new site configuration:

bash

sudo nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/example.com.conf

nginx

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    
    server_name example.com www.example.com;
    root /usr/share/nginx/html;
    index index.html index.htm;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }

    # Security headers
    add_header X-Content-Type-Options nosniff;
    add_header X-Frame-Options DENY;
    add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block";

    # Logging
    access_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.access.log;
    error_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.error.log;
}

Test and reload:

bash

sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Testing Nginx Installation

Create a Test HTML Page

bash

# Ubuntu
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/example.com
sudo nano /var/www/example.com/index.html

# CentOS/RHEL/AlmaLinux
sudo nano /usr/share/nginx/html/index.html

Add the following content:

html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Welcome to Nginx!</title>
    <style>
        body { font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center; margin-top: 50px; }
        .nginx-welcome-container { max-width: 600px; margin: 0 auto; }
        h1 { color: #333; }
        p { color: #666; }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <div class="nginx-welcome-container">
        <h1>Welcome to Nginx!</h1>
        <p>If you can see this page, Nginx is successfully installed and running.</p>
        <p>Server: Ubuntu/CentOS/RHEL/AlmaLinux</p>
    </div>
</body>
</html>

Verify Installation

Test the configuration and restart Nginx:

bash

sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Access your server through a web browser:

text

http://your-server-ip
http://your-domain.com

Security Hardening

SSL/TLS Configuration

Install Certbot for Let's Encrypt

bash

# Ubuntu
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

# CentOS/RHEL/AlmaLinux
sudo dnf install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

Obtain SSL Certificate

bash

sudo certbot --nginx -d example.com -d www.example.com

Security Headers Configuration

Create a security configuration snippet:

bash

sudo nano /etc/nginx/snippets/security-headers.conf

nginx

# Security headers
add_header X-Content-Type-Options nosniff;
add_header X-Frame-Options DENY;
add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block";
add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload";
add_header Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline' 'unsafe-eval'; style-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline';";
add_header Referrer-Policy "strict-origin-when-cross-origin";

# Hide Nginx version
server_tokens off;

Include in your virtual host:

nginx

server {
    # ... other configuration ...
    
    include /etc/nginx/snippets/security-headers.conf;
}

Rate Limiting

Add rate limiting to prevent abuse:

nginx

# In http block
limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=login:10m rate=1r/s;
limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=api:10m rate=10r/s;

# In server block
location /login {
    limit_req zone=login burst=5 delay=3;
    # ... other configuration ...
}

Performance Optimization

Worker Process Optimization

nginx

# Optimize worker processes
worker_processes auto;
worker_rlimit_nofile 65535;

events {
    worker_connections 4096;
    use epoll;
    multi_accept on;
}

Caching Configuration

nginx

# Browser caching
location ~* \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|ico|css|js)$ {
    expires 1y;
    add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
}

# Enable gzip compression
gzip on;
gzip_vary on;
gzip_min_length 1024;
gzip_comp_level 6;
gzip_types
    application/atom+xml
    application/javascript
    application/json
    application/rss+xml
    application/vnd.ms-fontobject
    application/x-font-ttf
    application/x-web-app-manifest+json
    application/xhtml+xml
    application/xml
    font/opentype
    image/svg+xml
    image/x-icon
    text/css
    text/plain
    text/x-component;

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Issue 1: Nginx Fails to Start

Symptoms: Service fails to start or stops immediately

Solutions:

bash

# Check syntax errors
sudo nginx -t

# Check port conflicts
sudo netstat -tlnp | grep :80

# Check error logs
sudo journalctl -u nginx
sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

Issue 2: Permission Denied Errors

Solutions:

bash

# Check file permissions
sudo chown -R nginx:nginx /usr/share/nginx/html  # CentOS/RHEL/AlmaLinux
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html    # Ubuntu

# Set correct permissions
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html
sudo chmod -R 644 /var/www/html/*.html

Issue 3: SELinux Issues (CentOS/RHEL/AlmaLinux)

Solutions:

bash

# Check SELinux denials
sudo ausearch -m AVC -ts recent

# Set appropriate SELinux contexts
sudo restorecon -Rv /usr/share/nginx/html/

# Allow Nginx to serve content
sudo setsebool -P httpd_can_network_connect 1

Issue 4: Firewall Blocking Connections

Solutions:

bash

# Ubuntu (UFW)
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp

# CentOS/RHEL/AlmaLinux (firewalld)
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=80/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=443/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Monitoring and Maintenance

Log Management

Configure log rotation:

bash

sudo nano /etc/logrotate.d/nginx

text

/var/log/nginx/*.log {
    daily
    missingok
    rotate 52
    compress
    delaycompress
    notifempty
    create 640 nginx adm
    sharedscripts
    postrotate
        systemctl reload nginx
    endscript
}

Monitoring Commands

bash

# Check Nginx status
sudo systemctl status nginx

# View real-time access logs
sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/access.log

# View error logs
sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

# Check configuration syntax
sudo nginx -t

# Reload configuration without downtime
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Performance Monitoring

bash

# Check active connections
curl -s http://localhost/nginx_status

# Monitor system resources
htop
iostat -x 1

Updating Nginx

Ubuntu

bash

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade nginx

CentOS/RHEL/AlmaLinux

bash

# CentOS/RHEL 7
sudo yum update nginx

# CentOS/RHEL 8+/AlmaLinux
sudo dnf update nginx

Conclusion

Nginx is a powerful and versatile web server that offers excellent performance, security, and flexibility. This comprehensive guide has walked you through installing and configuring Nginx on Ubuntu, CentOS, RHEL, and AlmaLinux systems.

Key Takeaways

Installation varies by distribution but follows similar patterns
Proper configuration is essential for security and performance
Security hardening should be implemented from the start
Regular maintenance ensures optimal performance and security

Next Steps

After successfully installing Nginx, consider:

Setting up SSL/TLS certificates with Let's Encrypt
Configuring reverse proxy for backend applications
Implementing load balancing for multiple servers
Setting up monitoring with tools like Prometheus or Grafana
Learning advanced features like rate limiting and caching

Whether you're hosting a simple static website or a complex web application, Nginx provides the foundation for reliable, high-performance web services. With the knowledge gained from this guide, you're ready to deploy and manage Nginx on your preferred Linux distribution.

Create a Simple Test Page

Create a custom test page to verify everything works:

bash

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/html
sudo nano /var/www/html/index.html

Add the following content:

html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Welcome to Nginx!</title>
    <style>
        body { font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center; margin-top: 50px; }
        .nginx-welcome-container { max-width: 600px; margin: 0 auto; }
        h1 { color: #333; }
        p { color: #666; }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <div class="nginx-welcome-container">
        <h1>Welcome to Nginx!</h1>
        <p>If you can see this page, Nginx is successfully installed and running.</p>
        <p>Server: Ubuntu/CentOS/RHEL/AlmaLinux</p>
    </div>
</body>
</html>

What is Nginx?

Key Features of Nginx

Nginx vs Apache

Prerequisites

System Requirements

Recommended Specifications

Installing Nginx on Ubuntu

Method 1: Installing from Default Repository

Step 1: Update System Packages

Step 2: Install Nginx

Step 3: Start and Enable Nginx

Step 4: Verify Installation

Method 2: Installing from Official Nginx Repository

Step 1: Install Prerequisites

Step 2: Add Nginx Signing Key

Step 3: Add Nginx Repository

Step 4: Update and Install

Configuring Firewall on Ubuntu

Installing Nginx on CentOS/RHEL/AlmaLinux

For CentOS 7 / RHEL 7

Step 1: Enable EPEL Repository

Step 2: Install Nginx

Step 3: Start and Enable Nginx

For CentOS 8 / RHEL 8 / AlmaLinux 8

Step 1: Enable PowerTools Repository (if needed)

Step 2: Install Nginx

Step 3: Start and Enable Nginx

For CentOS Stream / RHEL 9 / AlmaLinux 9

Step 1: Install Nginx

Step 2: Start and Enable Nginx

Configuring Firewall on CentOS/RHEL/AlmaLinux

SELinux Configuration

Basic Nginx Configuration

Understanding Nginx Directory Structure

Ubuntu Directory Structure

CentOS/RHEL/AlmaLinux Directory Structure

Basic Configuration File

Essential Configuration Settings

Creating a Simple Virtual Host

For Ubuntu

For CentOS/RHEL/AlmaLinux

Testing Nginx Installation

Create a Test HTML Page

Verify Installation

Security Hardening

SSL/TLS Configuration

Install Certbot for Let's Encrypt

Obtain SSL Certificate

Security Headers Configuration

Rate Limiting

Performance Optimization

Worker Process Optimization

Caching Configuration

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Issue 1: Nginx Fails to Start

Issue 2: Permission Denied Errors

Issue 3: SELinux Issues (CentOS/RHEL/AlmaLinux)

Issue 4: Firewall Blocking Connections

Monitoring and Maintenance

Log Management

Monitoring Commands

Performance Monitoring

Updating Nginx

Ubuntu

CentOS/RHEL/AlmaLinux

Conclusion

Key Takeaways

Next Steps

Create a Simple Test Page

Tags:

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