How To Install Nginx on Rocky Linux 9: A Comprehensive Guide

Setting up a web server is a crucial step in hosting websites and web applications. When it comes to web servers, Nginx is a top choice due to its speed, efficiency, and versatility. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through the entire process of how to install Nginx on Rocky Linux 9. Whether you’re an experienced system administrator or just starting with server management, we’ll provide clear instructions and explanations to ensure you get your web server up and running smoothly.

Why Choose Nginx for Your Web Server?
Prerequisites
Install and Configure Nginx on Rocky Linux 9
Conclusion

Why Choose Nginx for Your Web Server?

Before we dive into the installation process, let’s understand why Nginx is a preferred choice for web servers:

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High Performance: Nginx is renowned for its exceptional speed and efficiency. It’s designed to handle a large number of simultaneous connections while utilizing minimal system resources, making it ideal for high-traffic websites.
Resource Efficiency: Unlike some other web servers, Nginx is light on resource consumption. This implies that you can allocate more memory and CPU power to run your web applications.
Versatility: Nginx doesn’t just serve static content; it can also act as a reverse proxy, load balancer, and more. Its versatility means it’s a great fit for many different purposes.
Robust Security: Nginx offers robust security features, including support for SSL/TLS encryption, access control, and protection against various types of cyber threats like DDoS attacks.

Now that we understand the advantages of Nginx, let’s move on to the installation process.

Prerequisites

For Rocky Linux, make sure you’ve got a fresh installation of Rocky Linux 9 ready to go. You can set this up on either a physical machine or in a virtual environment like VMware or VirtualBox. To begin, follow our step-by-step guide:

Initial Setup Rocky Linux 9 Server: Secure and Efficient

Install and Configure Nginx on Rocky Linux 9

Here’s a simple guide on how to install and configure Nginx on Rocky Linux 9. By following these steps, you can tap into the advantages it offers:

Step 1: Updating Your System on Rocky Linux 9

Before installing any software on your Rocky Linux 9 system, it’s essential to ensure that your system is up to date. Open a terminal and run the following commands:

Bash

$ sudo dnf update
$ sudo dnf upgrade

When you execute these commands, they actively retrieve the most recent package information and subsequently ensure that your system’s software packages are updated to their latest versions available. Doing this on a regular basis is crucial to ensure the security and stability of your Rocky Linux 9 system.

Step 2: Installing Nginx on Rocky Linux 9

Rocky Linux 9 provides Nginx in its official repositories, which simplifies the installation process. You can install Nginx by running the following command:

Bash

$ sudo dnf install nginx

During the installation, Rocky Linux will download and installing Nginx along with any required dependencies. If you see a prompt, just type ‘y’ and hit Enter to confirm the action.

Step 3: Starting and Enabling Nginx on Rocky Linux 9

Now that Nginx is installed and ready on your Rocky Linux 9, you can start the Nginx service and configure it to launch automatically every time your system boots up. Use the following commands:

Bash

$ sudo systemctl start nginx
$ sudo systemctl enable nginx

These commands will initiate Nginx immediately and set it up to start automatically whenever your system starts up.

Step 4: Verifying Nginx Installation on Rocky Linux 9

To ensure that Nginx is running smoothly without any issues on your Rocky Linux 9, you can use the following command:

Bash

$ sudo systemctl status nginx

If Nginx is working properly, the status message will show that it is active and currently running. Another way to verify its status is by opening a web browser and entering your server’s IP address or domain name. If you see the default Nginx welcome page, your installation was successful on Rocky Linux 9.

Step 5: Configuring Firewall Rules on Rocky Linux 9

If you want people from the internet to access your Nginx web server, you need to configure your firewall to allow HTTP (port 80) and HTTPS (port 443) traffic on your Rocky Linux 9. The good news is that we can simplify this process by using the firewalld utility.

First, if firewalld isn’t already installed, you can install it by using the following command:

Bash

$ sudo dnf install firewalld

Once you’ve installed firewalld, enable it and permit HTTP and HTTPS traffic:

Bash

$ sudo systemctl start firewalld
$ sudo systemctl enable firewalld
$ sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
$ sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=https
$ sudo firewall-cmd --reload

The commands mentioned above do a few important things. First, they activate the firewalld, then they include the HTTP and HTTPS services in its rules, and finally, they refresh the firewall settings to put these changes into action. This ensures that your web server allows external requests to reach your website without any issues.

Step 6: Basic Nginx Configuration

The configuration file of Nginx on Rocky Linux 9 are stored in the /etc/nginx directory. The primary configuration file is /etc/nginx/nginx.conf, while server-specific configurations are typically placed in /etc/nginx/conf.d/.

To create a basic server block configuration for your website, you can create a new file in the/etc/nginx/conf.d/ directory. For example:

Bash

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

Inside this configuration file, you can define the server block for your website. Here’s a simple example suitable for a static website:

Nginx

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

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

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

In this configuration:

We specify that the server should listen on port 80 (HTTP).
The server_name directive should be adjusted to match your actual domain.
The root directory is set to /var/www/mywebsite, where you should place your website’s files.
We define the default index file as index.html.
The location / block handles incoming requests, attempting to serve requested files and falling back to a 404 error if the file isn’t found.

After creating the configuration file, you can test it for syntax errors with the following command:

Bash

$ sudo nginx -t

If there are no errors, you can reload Nginx to apply the new configuration:

Bash

$ sudo systemctl reload nginx

Now that you’ve set up the fundamental Nginx configuration, your website should be accessible online.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve successfully installing and configure Nginx on Rocky Linux 9, creating a solid foundation for hosting your websites or web applications. Nginx’s performance and versatility make it an excellent choice for serving web content.

However, remember that web server management is an ongoing process. Here are some additional steps to consider:

Implement SSL/TLS: Secure your website with HTTPS to protect user data and build trust.
Optimize Nginx: Fine-tune Nginx for better performance by configuring caching, compression, and load balancing.
Monitor and Maintain: Regularly monitor your server and keep its software up to date to ensure security and reliability.

By following these best practices and staying vigilant, you’ll help ensure the security and performance of your Rocky Linux 9 server running Nginx. Hosting your websites or applications has never been easier!

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