How To Install Nginx on CentOS 7: A Comprehensive Guide

In the world of web hosting and server management, Nginx stands out as a powerful web server and reverse proxy server. It’s a go-to choice for developers and system administrators alike. If you’re planning to host your website or web application on a CentOS 7 server, this step-by-step guide will walk you through the process of install Nginx on CentOS 7, suitable for both beginners and experienced users.

Key Features Nginx

Some key features and use cases of Nginx include:

1. Web Server: Nginx can serve static files such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and media files directly to clients. It provides fast and efficient delivery of static content.
2. Reverse Proxy: Nginx acts as an intermediary between clients and backend servers. It receives client requests and forwards them to the appropriate backend server based on various criteria such as load balancing algorithms, server health checks, and request routing rules.
3. Efficient Load Balancing: Nginx excels in efficiently distributing incoming requests across multiple backend servers. This capability optimizes resource utilization, enhances overall web application performance, and ensures improved availability.
4. SSL/TLS Termination: Nginx can handle SSL/TLS encryption and decryption, offloading this resource-intensive task from backend servers. It simplifies the management of SSL certificates and enables secure HTTPS connections.
5. Caching: Nginx includes caching capabilities to store frequently accessed content in memory, reducing the load on backend servers and improving response times for subsequent requests.
6. High Availability: Nginx can be configured in high-availability setups, where multiple instances work together to ensure continuous service availability even in the event of server failures or high traffic loads.

Nginx is highly configurable and supports a wide range of configurations and modules. It is widely used by large-scale websites, content delivery networks (CDNs), and web applications that require high performance,

Prerequisites

Before diving into the installation, ensure you have the necessary prerequisites in place:

• CentOS 7 Server: You should have access to a CentOS 7 server with a non-root user account and sudo privileges.
• SSH access to your CentOS 7 server, either as root or with sudo privileges.
• Optionally, a domain or subdomain pointed to your server’s IP address for later configuration.

A Comprehensive Guide: Install Nginx on CentOS 7

Here’s a simple guide on how to install Nginx on your CentOS 7 Server. By following these steps, you can tap into the advantages it offers:

Step 1: Update Your System on CentOS 7

Begin by updating your server to have the latest software packages and security updates:

$ sudo yum update

This command will check for available updates and install them.

Step 2: Installing Nginx

With your system up to date, it’s time to install Nginx on your CentOS 7 server:

Nginx is not available in the default CentOS repositories, so we’ll add the EPEL (Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux) repository, which contains Nginx:

$ sudo yum install epel-release

Now you can install Nginx :

$ sudo yum install nginx

Once Nginx is installed, you need to start the Nginx service and enable it to start at boot:

$ sudo systemctl start nginx
$ sudo systemctl enable nginx

Nginx is now installed and running on your CentOS 7 server.

Step 3: Configure Firewall

To make sure that outside traffic can reach your Nginx web server, you need to configure the firewall to allow both HTTP and HTTPS traffic.

To permit Nginx traffic through your firewall, follow these commands to allow both HTTP and HTTPS traffic:

$ sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
$ sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=https

These commands essentially unlock ports 80 (for HTTP) and 443 (for HTTPS) to allow Nginx to communicate through them. You can double-check the configuration by using:

$ sudo firewall-cmd --list-all

Verify the changes by reloading the firewall rules:

$ sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Step 4: Test Your Nginx Installation on CentOS 7

Before proceeding, it’s essential to ensure that Nginx is up and running as expected:

Confirm that Nginx is running without errors by executing:

$ sudo systemctl status nginx

You should see a status message indicating that Nginx is active and running.

To get started, open your web browser and type in your server’s IP address or domain name. Once you do that, you should be greeted with the default Nginx welcome page. This tells you that Nginx is doing its job correctly and serving web pages as expected.

Step 5: Basic Nginx Configuration on CentOS 7

Now that Nginx is installed and running, you can create a basic configuration to host your website:

Understanding Nginx’s Configuration Structure

Nginx’s configuration files are neatly organized into blocks. The primary configuration file can be found at /etc/nginx/nginx.conf, while configurations specific to individual servers are typically stored in /etc/nginx/conf.d/. Now, let’s take a look at some common configurations you might want to delve into:

• Server Blocks: Nginx can host multiple websites or applications on a single server by using server blocks.
• Virtual Hosts: You can configure virtual hosts to serve multiple domains or subdomains on a single server.
• SSL Configuration: To secure your website with HTTPS, you’ll need to obtain an SSL certificate and configure it in your Nginx server block.
• Logging: Nginx logs important information about server requests and errors.
• Load Balancing: Nginx can also be used as a load balancer to distribute incoming traffic across multiple backend servers for improved performance and redundancy.
• Security: Implement security measures like limiting access to specific IP addresses, using secure protocols, and configuring firewalls to enhance the security of your Nginx server.

Creating a Simple Nginx Server Block

To create a basic server configuration for your website, the next thing you need to do is generate a new configuration file.

$ sudo nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/yourwebsite.conf

In this file, you can define specific settings for your server. This includes details such as the server name, document root, and other configurations that are relevant to your setup. Here’s an example of a basic configuration you could use:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com;

    root /var/www/yourwebsite;
    index index.html;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }
}

Substitute “yourdomain.com” with your real domain or subdomain, and then make adjustments to the “root” directive to indicate the location of your website’s main folder.

After creating the configuration, test it for syntax errors with:

$ sudo nginx -t

If the test is successful, reload Nginx to apply the changes:

$ sudo systemctl reload nginx

Your basic Nginx configuration is now in place.

Don’t forget to check your configuration changes using the “sudo nginx -t” command before you reload Nginx using “sudo systemctl reload nginx.” Doing this is important because it helps you catch any syntax errors in your configuration files before they cause issues.

Step 6: Secure Nginx with Let’s Encrypt on CentOS 7

For added security and to gain the trust of your website visitors, think about safeguarding it with a free Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS certificate. This step can significantly boost your website’s security and credibility.

Install Certbot

Certbot is a tool that simplifies the process of obtaining and renewing SSL certificates from Let’s Encrypt. Install Certbot for Nginx with the following command:

$ sudo yum install certbot python2-certbot-nginx

Once Certbot is installed, you can run the following command to obtain and configure your SSL/TLS certificate:

$ sudo certbot --nginx

Obtain an SSL/TLS Certificate

Run Certbot to obtain and configure your SSL/TLS certificate:

Certbot will guide you through the certificate setup process. It will assist you in choosing which domains to secure and seamlessly configure Nginx to use HTTPS.

Step 7: Optimize Nginx for Performance

To ensure your Nginx server performs optimally, consider implementing the following optimizations:

Implement GZIP Compression

Implement GZIP CompressionReduces the size of web page assets sent to visitors, resulting in faster page load times. To enable GZIP compression, add the following lines to your Nginx server block configuration:

gzip on;
gzip_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript text/xml application/xml application/xml+rss text/javascript;

Leverage Browser Caching

Browser caching can improve load times for returning visitors. Use the following directives to instruct browsers to cache specific types of content:

location ~* \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|ico|css|js)$ {
    expires 30d;
}

Use Nginx for Load Balancing (Optional)

If your website experiences high traffic or you have multiple web servers, In that case, Nginx can be set up as a load balancer to distribute incoming requests across multiple backend servers, improving performance and reliability.

Conclusion

Well done! You’ve achieved the installation of Nginx on your CentOS 7 server and set it up to handle your website. Nginx is known for its speed and reliability, making it an ideal choice for web hosting. Moreover, with the added security of Let’s Encrypt and performance optimizations, you’ve ensured a speedy and secure online experience for your visitors.

However, this isn’t the end of the road. You should keep a close eye on your server, stay updated with security patches, and make regular backups of your data. These actions will help maintain the ongoing success of your CentOS 7 web server.

Also Read Our Other Guides :

• How To Build NGINX from Source (Compile) on Centos7
• How To Build NGINX from Source (Compile) on Debian 11
• How To Build NGINX from Source on Ubuntu Server 22.04
• How To Build NGINX from Source (Compile) on Rocky Linux 9
• How To Install Nginx on Debian 11: A Comprehensive Guide

Hopefully, now you have learned how to install Nginx on Centos 7.