What is NGINX?
NGINX is a high-performance web server, reverse proxy, and load balancer that powers many of the world's busiest websites. Unlike traditional web servers that create a new thread for each connection, NGINX uses an event-driven, asynchronous architecture that can handle thousands of concurrent connections with minimal memory usage.
Event-Driven Architecture
Master Process
- • Reads and validates configuration
- • Manages worker processes
- • Handles signals (reload, shutdown)
- • Binds to ports and sockets
Worker Processes
- • Handle client connections
- • Process HTTP requests
- • Use event loops (epoll/kqueue)
- • Share listen sockets
Load Balancing Methods
Round Robin
Distributes requests equally across all servers in order.
Least Connections
Routes to server with fewest active connections.
IP Hash
Uses client IP to determine server (session affinity).
Configuration Example
upstream backend {
least_conn;
server 192.168.1.10:80;
server 192.168.1.11:80;
server 192.168.1.12:80 backup;
}
server {
location / {
proxy_pass http://backend;
}
}NGINX Performance Calculator
Reverse Proxy Patterns
SSL Termination
NGINX handles SSL/TLS encryption and decryption, reducing CPU load on backend servers.
server {
listen 443 ssl http2;
ssl_certificate /path/to/cert.pem;
ssl_certificate_key /path/to/key.pem;
location / {
proxy_pass http://backend;
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
}
}Content Caching
Cache frequently requested content to reduce backend load and improve response times.
proxy_cache_path /var/cache/nginx levels=1:2
keys_zone=my_cache:10m
max_size=10g inactive=60m;
server {
location / {
proxy_cache my_cache;
proxy_cache_valid 200 1h;
proxy_cache_use_stale error timeout;
proxy_pass http://backend;
}
}Request Routing
Route requests to different backends based on URL patterns or headers.
location /api/ {
proxy_pass http://api_backend;
}
location /static/ {
proxy_pass http://static_backend;
}
location / {
proxy_pass http://web_backend;
}Real-World Implementations
Netflix
Uses NGINX for edge caching and content delivery optimization.
- • Geographic content routing
- • Video stream optimization
- • Rate limiting for API protection
Airbnb
Implements NGINX for microservices routing and SSL termination.
- • Service mesh proxy
- • A/B testing routing
- • Image optimization pipeline
WordPress.com
Leverages NGINX for handling millions of blog requests efficiently.
- • FastCGI proxy for PHP
- • Static content serving
- • DDoS protection layers
GitHub
Uses NGINX for load balancing and SSL termination at scale.
- • Git protocol optimization
- • WebSocket proxying
- • Health check automation