A Step-by-Step Guide to Installing Nginx on Your Linux System

In the ever-evolving world of web development, choosing a reliable and efficient web server can greatly impact the success of your web applications and sites. Nginx is a top choice for many developers due to its high-performance, open-source design, and low resource consumption. This powerful web server software is known for its stability, abundant features, and easy configuration, making it a popular choice for serving web content. Whether you’re deploying a simple website or a robust web application, Nginx is a versatile tool that can meet your needs.

In this guide, we aim to provide a comprehensive, step-by-step walkthrough on how to install Nginx on two of the most popular Linux distributions, Ubuntu and CentOS. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or a beginner just starting out, this guide will provide clear instructions to get Nginx up and running on your system. We will cover everything from system updates and Nginx installation to firewall configurations and managing the Nginx process.

Prerequisites

Ensure that you have:

A Linux system with sudo or root access.
A stable internet connection.
Basic understanding of the command-line interface.

Step 1: Update Your System

Before installing Nginx, it is recommended that you update your system to ensure that all the packages are up to date. To do this, open a terminal window and enter the following command:

On Debian-bases systems, open your terminal and run:
```
sudo apt-get update 
```
On RHEL-based systems, use the following command:
```
sudo yum update 
```

These commands will fetch the latest updates from all your repositories and PPAs.

Step 2: Install Nginx

Once the system is updated, the next step is to install Nginx. To do this, enter the following command in the terminal:

For RHEL/CentOS, run:
```
sudo apt-get install nginx 
```
For Debian/Ubuntu, run:
```
sudo yum install nginx 
```

Your system will prompt for confirmation by providing you with a Y/n option. Type ‘Y’ and hit Enter.

Step 3: Verify Nginx Installation

To verify that Nginx has been installed correctly, check its version.

Use this command on both Ubuntu and CentOS:

nginx -v

This will return the installed version of Nginx.

Step 4: Configuring Nginx

Nginx configuration files are located in the /etc/nginx directory. The main configuration file is nginx.conf, which includes other configuration files located in the conf.d directory. To edit the configuration files, use a text editor such as vi or nano.

For example, to edit the main configuration file, enter the following command:

sudo vi /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

Make the necessary changes to the configuration files and save them.

Step 5: Start and Enable Nginx Service

Start the Nginx service and enable it to start up at system boot.

On Ubuntu and CentOS, use:

sudo systemctl start nginx 
sudo systemctl enable nginx

Step 6: Configure Firewall

If you’re using a firewall, you need to allow connections to Nginx.

On Ubuntu/Debian with UFW, run:

sudo ufw allow 'Nginx HTTP' 
sudo ufw reload

On CentOS/RHEL with firewalld, use:

sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=public --add-service=http 
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Step 7: Test the Setup

To verify that Nginx is running, open your web browser and enter your server’s IP address. You should see a welcome page stating, “Welcome to nginx!” if everything is set up correctly.

Step 8: Manage Nginx Process

Finally, let’s go through some basic commands to manage the Nginx service:

To stop your web server:
```
sudo systemctl stop nginx 
```
To start the web server when it is stopped:
```
sudo systemctl start nginx 
```
To restart the service:
```
sudo systemctl restart nginx 
```
To reload Nginx without dropping connections (useful for configuration changes):
```
sudo systemctl reload nginx 
```
By default, Nginx is set to start automatically when the server boots. To disable this behavior:
```
sudo systemctl disable nginx 
```
To re-enable the service to start up at boot:
```
sudo systemctl enable nginx 
```

Conclusion

Congratulations, you have now successfully installed and tested Nginx on your Linux system. This versatile web server is now at your disposal, ready to serve your websites and applications.

However, remember that installation is just the beginning. Nginx offers a plethora of configuration options suitable for various scenarios, ranging from serving static websites to acting as a reverse proxy for complex web applications. Therefore, as you continue your journey, make sure to explore the vast functionalities and capabilities Nginx has to offer. Happy coding!