Full NGINX Tutorial - Demo Project with Node.js, Docker

Introduction

This tutorial will guide you through setting up NGINX as a reverse proxy for a Node.js application using Docker. You'll learn core concepts of NGINX, configure it for load balancing, and secure your connection with HTTPS. This hands-on approach will add valuable skills to your engineering toolkit.

Step 1: Understand NGINX and Its Uses

• NGINX is a high-performance web server often used as a reverse proxy, load balancer, and HTTP cache.
• It can manage multiple client requests and efficiently distribute traffic to backend servers.

Step 2: Set Up Your Development Environment

• Ensure you have Docker installed on your machine.
• Create a simple Node.js web application that will serve as the backend.
• Clone the demo project from the Git repository:

  git clone https://gitlab.com/twn-youtube/nginx-crash-course
  cd nginx-crash-course
  

Step 3: Add Backend Web Server

• Create a backend web server using Node.js.
• Ensure that your server listens on a specific port (e.g., 3000).

Step 4: Dockerize the Node.js Application

• Create a Dockerfile in your Node.js application directory with the following content:

  FROM node:14
  WORKDIR /usr/src/app
  COPY package*.json ./
  RUN npm install
  COPY . .
  EXPOSE 3000
  CMD ["node", "app.js"]
  

• Build the Docker image:

  docker build -t my-node-app .
  

Step 5: Install NGINX

• Use Docker to run NGINX:

  docker run --name nginx -p 80:80 -d nginx
  

Step 6: Configure NGINX as a Reverse Proxy

• Create a configuration file for NGINX (e.g., nginx.conf) with the following content:

  server {
      listen 80;
  
      location / {
          proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
          proxy_set_header Host $host;
          proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
          proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
          proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
      }
  }
  

• Copy this file into the NGINX container:

  docker cp nginx.conf nginx:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
  

Step 7: Start NGINX and Test Load Balancing

• Restart the NGINX container to apply the new configuration:

  docker restart nginx
  

• Access your application through your browser at http://localhost.

Step 8: Configure HTTPS for Secure Connections

• Generate a self-signed TLS certificate:

  openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout server.key -out server.crt
  

• Update your nginx.conf to include the SSL configuration:

  server {
      listen 443 ssl;
      ssl_certificate /etc/nginx/conf.d/server.crt;
      ssl_certificate_key /etc/nginx/conf.d/server.key;
  
      location / {
          proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
          ...
      }
  }
  

• Copy the certificate files into the NGINX container:

  docker cp server.crt nginx:/etc/nginx/conf.d/
  docker cp server.key nginx:/etc/nginx/conf.d/
  

Step 9: Redirect HTTP to HTTPS

• Modify your nginx.conf to redirect HTTP traffic to HTTPS:

  server {
      listen 80;
      server_name your_domain.com;
      return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
  }
  

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you learned how to set up NGINX as a reverse proxy for a Node.js application running in Docker. You created a secure HTTPS connection and configured HTTP to HTTPS redirection. As next steps, consider learning more about advanced NGINX features or exploring container orchestration with Kubernetes.