Nginx
nginx is a robust, small, high performance web server and reverse proxy server. It is a good alternative to popular web servers like Apache and lighttpd.
Installation
Before immediately installing the www-servers/nginx package, first take a good look at the USE flags for Nginx.
Expanded USE flags
Nginx uses modules to enhance its features. To simplify the maintenance of this modular approach, the nginx ebuild uses expanded USE (USE_EXPAND) flags to denote which modules should be installed.
- HTTP related modules can be enabled through the NGINX_MODULES_HTTP variable
- Mail related modules can be enabled through the NGINX_MODULES_MAIL variable
- Third party modules can be enabled through the NGINX_ADD_MODULES variable
These variables need to be set in /etc/portage/make.conf. Their descriptions can be found in /var/db/repos/gentoo/profiles/desc/nginx_modules_http.desc and /var/db/repos/gentoo/profiles/desc/nginx_modules_mail.desc.
For example, to enable the fastcgi
module:
NGINX_MODULES_HTTP="fastcgi"
The above will overwrite the default value of NGINX_MODULES_HTTP and set it to fastcgi
. To enable the fastcgi
module without overwriting the default NGINX_MODULES_HTTP value, the following USE flag notation can be specified in /etc/portage/package.use:
www-servers/nginx NGINX_MODULES_HTTP: fastcgi
USE flags
USE flags for www-servers/nginx Robust, small and high performance http and reverse proxy server
+http
|
Enable HTTP core support |
+http-cache
|
Enable HTTP cache support |
+http2
|
Enable HTTP2 module support |
+pcre2
|
Enable support for pcre2 |
aio
|
Enables file AIO support |
debug
|
Enable extra debug codepaths, like asserts and extra output. If you want to get meaningful backtraces see https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Project:Quality_Assurance/Backtraces |
http3
|
Enable HTTP3 module support |
ktls
|
Enable Kernel TLS offload (kTLS) |
libatomic
|
Use libatomic instead of builtin atomic operations |
pcre
|
Add support for Perl Compatible Regular Expressions |
pcre-jit
|
Enable JIT for pcre |
rtmp
|
NGINX-based Media Streaming Server |
selinux
|
!!internal use only!! Security Enhanced Linux support, this must be set by the selinux profile or breakage will occur |
ssl
|
Enable HTTPS module for http. Enable SSL/TLS support for POP3/IMAP/SMTP for mail. |
test
|
Enable dependencies and/or preparations necessary to run tests (usually controlled by FEATURES=test but can be toggled independently) |
threads
|
Add threads support for various packages. Usually pthreads |
vim-syntax
|
Pulls in related vim syntax scripts |
Emerge
With the USE flags set, install www-servers/nginx:
root #
emerge --ask www-servers/nginx
Installation verification
The default nginx configuration defines a virtual server with the root directory set to /var/www/localhost/htdocs. However due to bug #449136, the nginx ebuild will only create the /var/www/localhost directory and without an index file. To have a working default configuration, create the /var/www/localhost/htdocs directory and simple index file:
root #
mkdir /var/www/localhost/htdocs
root #
echo 'Hello, world!' > /var/www/localhost/htdocs/index.html
The nginx package installs an init service script allowing administrators to stop, start, or restart the service. Run the next command to start the nginx service:
root #
/etc/init.d/nginx start
To verify that nginx is properly running, point a web browser to the http://localhost address or use a command-line web tool like curl:
user $
curl http://localhost
Configuration
The nginx configuration is handled through the /etc/nginx/nginx.conf file.
Single site access
The following example shows a single-site access, without dynamic capabilities (such as PHP).
user nginx nginx;
worker_processes 1;
error_log /var/log/nginx/error_log info;
events {
worker_connections 1024;
use epoll;
}
http {
include /etc/nginx/mime.types;
default_type application/octet-stream;
log_format main
'$remote_addr - $remote_user [$time_local] '
'"$request" $status $bytes_sent '
'"$http_referer" "$http_user_agent" '
'"$gzip_ratio"';
client_header_timeout 10m;
client_body_timeout 10m;
send_timeout 10m;
connection_pool_size 256;
client_header_buffer_size 1k;
large_client_header_buffers 4 2k;
request_pool_size 4k;
gzip off;
output_buffers 1 32k;
postpone_output 1460;
sendfile on;
tcp_nopush on;
tcp_nodelay on;
keepalive_timeout 75 20;
ignore_invalid_headers on;
index index.html;
server {
listen 127.0.0.1;
server_name localhost;
access_log /var/log/nginx/localhost.access_log main;
error_log /var/log/nginx/localhost.error_log info;
root /var/www/localhost/htdocs;
}
}
Multiple site access
It is possible to leverage the include
directive to split the configuration in multiple files:
user nginx nginx;
worker_processes 1;
error_log /var/log/nginx/error_log info;
events {
worker_connections 1024;
use epoll;
}
http {
include /etc/nginx/mime.types;
default_type application/octet-stream;
log_format main
'$remote_addr - $remote_user [$time_local] '
'"$request" $status $bytes_sent '
'"$http_referer" "$http_user_agent" '
'"$gzip_ratio"';
client_header_timeout 10m;
client_body_timeout 10m;
send_timeout 10m;
connection_pool_size 256;
client_header_buffer_size 1k;
large_client_header_buffers 4 2k;
request_pool_size 4k;
gzip off;
output_buffers 1 32k;
postpone_output 1460;
sendfile on;
tcp_nopush on;
tcp_nodelay on;
keepalive_timeout 75 20;
ignore_invalid_headers on;
index index.html;
include /etc/nginx/conf.d/*.conf;
}
server {
listen 127.0.0.1;
server_name localhost;
access_log /var/log/nginx/localhost.access_log main;
error_log /var/log/nginx/localhost.error_log info;
root /var/www/localhost/htdocs;
}
server {
listen 443 ssl;
server_name host.tld;
ssl_certificate /etc/ssl/nginx/host.tld.pem;
ssl_certificate_key /etc/ssl/nginx/host.tld.key;
}
PHP support
Add the following lines to the nginx configuration to enable PHP support. In this example nginx is exchanging information with the PHP process via a UNIX socket.
...
http {
...
server {
...
location ~ \.php$ {
# Test for non-existent scripts or throw a 404 error
# Without this line, nginx will blindly send any request ending in .php to php-fpm
try_files $uri =404;
include /etc/nginx/fastcgi.conf;
fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php-fpm.socket;
}
}
}
To support this setup, PHP needs to be built with FastCGI Process Manager support (dev-lang/php), which is handled through the fpm
USE flag:
root #
echo "dev-lang/php fpm" >> /etc/portage/package.use
Rebuild PHP with the fpm
USE flag enabled:
root #
emerge --ask dev-lang/php
Using UNIX socket communication is the preferred and recommended configuration
For PHP 7.0 and newer PHP versions use following configuration:
listen = /run/php-fpm.socket
listen.owner = nginx
Set the timezone in the php-fpm php.ini file. Substitute the <PUT_TIMEZONE_HERE>
text in the FileBox below with the appropriate timezone information:
date.timezone = <PUT_TIMEZONE_HERE>
Start the php-fpm daemon:
root #
/etc/init.d/php-fpm start
Add php-fpm to the default runlevel:
root #
rc-update add php-fpm default
Reload nginx with changed configuration:
root #
/etc/init.d/nginx reload
Alternatively, for systemd:
root #
systemctl enable php-fpm@7.1
root #
systemctl start php-fpm@7.1
IP address access list
The next example shows how to allow access to a particular URL (in this case /nginx_status) only to:
- certain hosts (e.g. 192.0.2.1 127.0.0.1)
- and IP networks (e.g. 198.51.100.0/24)
http {
server {
location /nginx_status {
stub_status on;
allow 127.0.0.1/32;
allow 192.0.2.1/32;
allow 198.51.100.0/24;
deny all;
}
}
}
Basic authentication
nginx allows limiting access to resources by validating the user name and password:
http {
server {
location / {
auth_basic "Authentication failed";
auth_basic_user_file conf/htpasswd;
}
}
}
The htpasswd file can be generated using:
user $
openssl passwd
Geolocation using GeoIP2
The GeoIP2 module makes use of GeoIP2 databases by Maxmind or similar. Using Maxmind is already supported in Gentoo through net-misc/geoipupdate. However, registration of an account is required in order to obtain a free license key and download the free database.
Downloading Maxmind GeoIP2 databases
Once an account is created, install and configure geoipupdate:
root #
emerge --ask net-misc/geoipupdate
Enter the account and license key:
AccountID YOURID
LicenseKey YOURKEY
EditionIDs GeoLite2-ASN GeoLite2-City GeoLite2-Country
After that, you'll need to download the databases:
root #
geoipupdate
In order receive updates automatically in the future, add this command to a weekly cronjob or systemd timer.
Add GeoIP2 support to Nginx
To enable to modules and rebuild Nginx:
www-servers/nginx NGINX_MODULES_HTTP: geo geoip2
The geoip module only supports the GeoIP legacy database.
Rebuild nginx with the third party modules enabled:
root #
emerge --ask www-servers/nginx
Once Nginx has been rebuild, point Nginx to the databases and the GeoIP2 variables:
http {
...
geoip2 /usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLite2-City.mmdb {
auto_reload 5m;
$geoip2_metadata_city_build metadata build_epoch;
$geoip2_data_city_name city names en;
$geoip2_data_city_geonameid city geoname_id;
$geoip2_data_continent_code continent code;
$geoip2_data_continent_geonameid continent geoname_id;
$geoip2_data_continent_name continent names en;
$geoip2_data_country_geonameid country geoname_id;
$geoip2_data_country_code iso_code;
$geoip2_data_country_name names en;
$geoip2_data_country_is_eu is_in_european_union;
$geoip2_data_location_accuracyradius location accuracy_radius;
$geoip2_data_location_latitude location latitude;
$geoip2_data_location_longitude location longitude;
$geoip2_data_location_metrocode location metro_code;
$geoip2_data_location_timezone location time_zone;
$geoip2_data_postal_code postal code;
$geoip2_data_rcountry_geonameid registered_country geoname_id;
$geoip2_data_rcountry_iso registered_country iso_code;
$geoip2_data_rcountry_name registered_country names en;
$geoip2_data_rcountry_is_eu registered_country is_in_european_union;
$geoip2_data_region_geonameid subdivisions 0 geoname_id;
$geoip2_data_region_iso subdivisions 0 iso_code;
$geoip2_data_region_name subdivisions 0 names en;
}
geoip2 /usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLite2-ASN.mmdb {
auto_reload 5m;
$geoip2_data_autonomous_system_number autonomous_system_number;
$geoip2_data_autonomous_system_organization autonomous_system_organization;
}
...
}
The auto_reload
option will allow updating the database without restarting Nginx.
For the GeoIP2 values to show up in a PHP application, assign them as fastcgi_param
values:
...
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_CITY_BUILD_DATE $geoip2_metadata_city_build;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_CITY $geoip2_data_city_name;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_CITY_GEONAMEID $geoip2_data_city_geonameid;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_CONTINENT_CODE $geoip2_data_continent_code;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_CONTINENT_GEONAMEID $geoip2_data_continent_geonameid;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_CONTINENT_NAME $geoip2_data_continent_name;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_COUNTRY_GEONAMEID $geoip2_data_country_geonameid;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_COUNTRY_CODE $geoip2_data_country_code;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_COUNTRY_NAME $geoip2_data_country_name;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_COUNTRY_IN_EU $geoip2_data_country_is_eu;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_LOCATION_ACCURACY_RADIUS $geoip2_data_location_accuracyradius;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_LATITUDE $geoip2_data_location_latitude;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_LONGITUDE $geoip2_data_location_longitude;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_LOCATION_METROCODE $geoip2_data_location_metrocode;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_LOCATION_TIMEZONE $geoip2_data_location_timezone;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_POSTAL_CODE $geoip2_data_postal_code;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_REGISTERED_COUNTRY_GEONAMEID $geoip2_data_rcountry_geonameid;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_REGISTERED_COUNTRY_ISO $geoip2_data_rcountry_iso;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_REGISTERED_COUNTRY_NAME $geoip2_data_rcountry_name;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_REGISTERED_COUNTRY_IN_EU $geoip2_data_rcountry_is_eu;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_REGION_GEONAMEID $geoip2_data_region_geonameid;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_REGION $geoip2_data_region_iso;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_REGION_NAME $geoip2_data_region_name;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_ASN $geoip2_data_autonomous_system_number;
fastcgi_param GEOIP2_ASN_ORG $geoip2_data_autonomous_system_organization;
Third party modules
Download third party module source and move it to /usr/src. Manually compile the selected Nginx module, then add the following line to /etc/portage/make.conf:
NGINX_ADD_MODULES="/usr/src/nginxmodule"
Rebuild nginx with the third party module enabled:
root #
emerge --ask www-servers/nginx
Usage
Service control
OpenRC
Start nginx web server:
root #
rc-service nginx start
Stop nginx web server:
root #
rc-service nginx stop
Add nginx to the default runlevel so that the service starts automatically on system reboot:
root #
rc-update add nginx default
Reload nginx configuration without dropping connections:
root #
rc-service nginx reload
Restart the nginx service:
root #
rc-service nginx restart
systemd
Start nginx web server:
root #
systemctl start nginx
Stop nginx web server:
root #
systemctl stop nginx
Check the status of the service:
root #
systemctl status nginx
Enable service to start automatically on system reboot:
root #
systemctl enable nginx
Reload nginx configuration without dropping connections:
root #
systemctl reload nginx
Restart the nginx service:
root #
systemctl restart nginx
Troubleshooting
In case of problems, the following commands can help troubleshoot the situation.
Validate configuration
Verify that the running nginx configuration has no errors:
root #
/usr/sbin/nginx -t
nginx: the configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf syntax is ok nginx: configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf test is successful
By running nginx with the -t
option, it will validate the configuration file without actually starting the nginx daemon. Use the -c
option with the full path to the file to test configuration files in non-default locations.
Verify processes are running
Check if nginx processes are running:
user $
ps aux | egrep 'nginx|PID'
PID TTY STAT TIME COMMAND 26092 ? Ss 0:00 nginx: master process /usr/sbin/nginx -c /etc/nginx/nginx.conf 26093 ? S 0:00 nginx: worker proces
Verify bound addresses and ports
Verify nginx daemon is listening on the right TCP port (such as 80 for HTTP or 443 for HTTPS):
root #
ss -tulpn | grep :80
tcp LISTEN 0 0 0.0.0.0:80 0.0.0.0:* users:(("nginx",pid=6253,fd=52),("nginx",pid=6252,fd=52))
See also
- Apache — an efficient, extensible web server. It is one of the most popular web servers used the Internet.
- Lighttpd — a fast and lightweight web server.
External resources
- https://nginx.org/en/docs/beginners_guide.html - A nginx beginner's guide. Helpful for those who do not know much about nginx.
- https://nginx.com/resources/admin-guide/ - The ngnix administration guide. Helpful for web administrators who have been working in the field.
- https://wiki.nginx.org/Main - The nginx wiki.
- https://github.com/h5bp/server-configs-nginx - H5BP nginx config.