Nginx Reverse Proxy and Load Balancing: Complete Configuration Guide

Nginx powers over 35% of the web as a reverse proxy and load balancer.

Basic Reverse Proxy

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name app.example.com;
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    }
}

Load Balancing

upstream backend {
    least_conn;
    server 192.168.1.10:3000 weight=3;
    server 192.168.1.11:3000 weight=2;
    server 192.168.1.12:3000 backup;
}

SSL Termination

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/app/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/app/privkey.pem;
    ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
}

WebSocket and Rate Limiting

location /ws/ {
    proxy_http_version 1.1;
    proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
    proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
}

limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=api:10m rate=10r/s;

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