How to host multiple servers behind nginx?

@tina 

To host multiple servers behind Nginx, you can use a reverse proxy configuration. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Install Nginx: Start by installing Nginx on your server. You can typically do this using the package manager of your operating system. For example, on Ubuntu, you would run sudo apt-get install nginx.
2. Configure Nginx: The default Nginx configuration file is usually located at /etc/nginx/nginx.conf. Open this file in a text editor.
3. Remove default configuration: By default, Nginx is configured to host a single server. You will need to remove this configuration before proceeding. Look for a section that starts with server { and ends with }. Delete this entire section.
4. Create new server configuration blocks: For each server you want to host, you need to create a separate server configuration block. These blocks define the server-specific settings and the location of the server files. Below is an example configuration block that you can use as a template:

 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10

    server {
        listen 80;
        server_name example.com;

        location / {
            proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;  // The address of your server
            proxy_set_header HOST $host;
            proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        }
    }

1. Repeat step 4 for each server you want to host: For each additional server, create a separate configuration block like the one shown above. Make sure to replace example.com with the appropriate domain name and update the proxy_pass directive with the address of the server you want to host.
2. Save and exit the configuration file: Save the changes you made to the Nginx configuration file and exit the text editor.
3. Restart Nginx: Finally, restart Nginx to apply the new configuration. You can do this using the command sudo systemctl restart nginx.

After following these steps, Nginx will act as a reverse proxy, routing incoming requests to the appropriate server based on the domain name specified in the configuration blocks.

@tina 

Here are the steps in a more detailed, organized format to effectively host multiple servers behind Nginx:

Step 1: Install Nginx You can install Nginx on your server using the package manager of your operating system. For example, on Ubuntu, you can run:

1
2

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nginx

Step 2: Configure Nginx Open the Nginx configuration file located at /etc/nginx/nginx.conf in a text editor (e.g., nano, vim, or gedit).

Step 3: Remove Default Server Configuration Find and remove the default server configuration block in the nginx.conf file. Look for a section that starts with server { and ends with } and delete it.

Step 4: Create New Server Configuration Blocks For each server you want to host, create a separate server configuration block. Here is an example:

 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;  // Replace with your server's address
        proxy_set_header HOST $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    }
}

Replace example.com with your domain name and update the proxy_pass directive to point to the address of the server you want to host.

Step 5: Repeat for Additional Servers Repeat step 4 for each additional server you want to host, creating a new server configuration block for each server.

Step 6: Save and Exit Save the changes to the nginx.conf file and exit the text editor.

Step 7: Restart Nginx Finally, restart Nginx to apply the new configuration changes:

1

sudo systemctl restart nginx

With these steps, Nginx will act as a reverse proxy, routing incoming requests to the appropriate server based on the domain name specified in the configuration blocks. Make sure to test the configuration and update DNS records accordingly for each domain.