Nginx

Nginx is the world's most popular web server. v1.25+ (2025) supports HTTP/3 (QUIC) natively.

When to Use

• Reverse Proxy: Termination of SSL, load balancing to backend apps (Node/Python).
• Static Content: Serving React/Vue bundles efficiently.
• Ingress: Nginx Ingress Controller is the standard K8s ingress.

Quick Start

# nginx.conf
server {
    listen 443 quic reuseport;
    listen 443 ssl;
    http2 on;

    server_name example.com;
    ssl_certificate cert.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key key.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        add_header Alt-Svc 'h3=":443"; ma=86400';
    }
}

Core Concepts

Worker Processes

Event-driven architecture. Handles 10k+ connections with low RAM.

Contexts

http, server, location. Configuration inheritance rules.

Modules

Extend functionality (e.g., ngx_http_stub_status_module for metrics).

Best Practices (2025)

Do:

• Enable HTTP/3: Enable QUIC for lower latency over unreliable networks.
• Tune Buffers: Optimizing client_body_buffer_size prevents disk I/O.
• Security Headers: Always set HSTS, X-Frame-Options, etc.

Don't:

• Don't using if is evil: Avoid complex logic in Nginx config. Use try_files or map.

References

• Nginx Documentation