Background
NGINX is a high-performance web server, reverse proxy server, and load balancer. Developed by Igor Sysoev and first released in 2004, NGINX is known for its efficiency in handling a large number of simultaneous connections with low resource usage.
Core Features of NGINX
NGINX is known for its versatile feature set that supports a wide range of web and application delivery requirements.
High Performance and Concurrency. NGINX is designed to handle a large number of simultaneous connections efficiently, making it ideal for high-traffic websites and applications.
Low Resource Consumption. With its event-driven architecture, NGINX uses fewer resources compared to traditional web servers, ensuring optimal performance even under heavy loads.
Load Balancing. NGINX offers robust load balancing capabilities, distributing incoming traffic across multiple servers to enhance performance and reliability.
Reverse Proxying. As a reverse proxy, NGINX forwards client requests to backend servers, providing benefits such as load distribution, enhanced security, and improved scalability.
HTTP Caching. NGINX can cache content, reducing the load on backend servers and improving response times for users.
NGINX Architecture
NGINX’s architecture is designed to handle many simultaneous connections efficiently and is based on an asynchronous, event-driven model. Here are the main components and architectural principles:
Master Process. The master process is responsible for reading and evaluating the configuration files, binding to ports, and starting the worker processes. It manages the worker processes by monitoring them, restarting them if they crash, and handling signals.
Worker Processes. Worker processes handle the actual network connections, processing client requests, and returning responses. Each worker process is independent and can handle thousands of simultaneous connections.
Workers use an asynchronous, non-blocking event-driven model to manage connections. This model allows NGINX to handle multiple connections within a single thread using mechanisms like epoll (Linux), kqueue (BSD), or event ports (Solaris).
Connection Handling. Connections are accepted by worker processes using an efficient event notification system. Each worker process competes to accept new connections, ensuring that the load is balanced among them.
After accepting a connection, the worker processes the client request by parsing the request headers, handling any needed backend communication (e.g., proxying or load balancing), and sending the response back to the client.
Modules. NGINX modules extend the core functionality of NGINX, enabling it to handle a wide range of tasks beyond basic web serving. These modules can be compiled into NGINX at build time or dynamically loaded at runtime.
Modules fall into several categories:
- Core modules provide essential functionality and are typically included in all NGINX installations.
- Event modules manage the event-driven architecture of NGINX.
- HTTP modules extend NGINX’s ability to handle HTTP traffic, such as SSL/TLS encryption, URL rewriting, and reverse proxy capabilities.
- Mail modules enable NGINX to act as a mail proxy server.
- Stream modules extend NGINX’s capabilities for handling TCP and UDP streams.
- Third-party modules are developed by third parties and can be compiled into NGINX or loaded dynamically. Some popular third-party modules include:
- ngx_pagespeed: An open-source module that applies web performance best practices to optimize content.
- ngx_http_lua_module: Allows embedding Lua scripts into NGINX for high-performance web applications.
- ngx_brotli: Provides Brotli compression support.
- Security modules enhance the security capabilities of NGINX, including basic HTTP authentication, subrequest-based HTTP authentication, and validating the authenticity of requested links to protect resources from unauthorized access.
- Load balancing modules provide advanced load balancing capabilities.
- Logging and monitoring modules provide enhanced logging and monitoring capabilities.
- Caching modules enhance NGINX’s caching capabilities.
Configuration System. NGINX uses a configuration file (nginx.conf) to set up its various services and modules. The configuration file is hierarchical, allowing for detailed customization and tuning of the server. NGINX supports dynamic reconfiguration without dropping connections. This means changes can be made to the configuration and applied without affecting ongoing client connections.
Load Balancing and Reverse Proxy. NGINX can distribute traffic across multiple backend servers using different algorithms like round-robin, least connections, or IP hash. It can also act as a reverse proxy, forwarding client requests to backend servers and returning the server responses to clients. This helps improve performance, scalability, and reliability.
HTTP/2 and HTTPS. NGINX supports HTTP/2, which allows for multiplexing multiple streams over a single connection, reducing latency and improving page load times.
SSL/TLS Termination. NGINX can handle SSL/TLS termination, offloading the encryption and decryption workload from backend servers and improving overall security.
NGINX as a Web Server
NGINX excels as a web server, efficiently serving both static and dynamic content.
How NGINX Serves Static Content
NGINX is highly optimized for serving static content such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and images, making it a popular choice for static websites and content-heavy applications.
Handling Dynamic Content with NGINX
For dynamic content, NGINX can be configured to work alongside application servers like PHP-FPM, enabling seamless delivery of dynamic web pages.
Comparison with Other Web Servers
Compared to Apache, NGINX offers superior performance and resource efficiency, especially under high concurrency, making it a preferred choice for modern web applications.
NGINX as a Reverse Proxy
A reverse proxy acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from backend servers.
Definition and Purpose of a Reverse Proxy
NGINX, as a reverse proxy, enhances security, load balancing, and scalability by managing client requests and forwarding them to appropriate backend servers.
Benefits of Using NGINX as a Reverse Proxy
- Improved security by hiding backend servers
- Load balancing to distribute traffic
- SSL termination to offload encryption/decryption tasks
Configuring NGINX as a Reverse Proxy
Setting up NGINX as a reverse proxy involves configuring proxy pass directives in the NGINX configuration file to route client requests to backend servers.
NGINX as Load Balancer
NGINX provides several load balancing methods to ensure efficient traffic distribution.
Types of Load Balancing
- Round Robin: Distributes requests evenly across servers.
- Least Connections: Directs traffic to the server with the fewest active connections.
- IP Hash: Routes requests from the same client IP to the same server.
NGINX as a Kubernetes Ingress Controller
NGINX serves as an ingress controller, managing incoming traffic and routing it to the appropriate services within the cluster.
Benefits of Using NGINX in Kubernetes
- Improved performance and scalability
- Enhanced security with SSL/TLS termination
- Simplified management of web traffic
Common Use Cases
- Exposing HTTP and HTTPS routes
- Load balancing traffic across multiple services
- Securing applications with SSL/TLS
Using Envoy Gateway to Replace NGINX for Kubernetes Ingress
NGINX provides Kubernetes using the older Kubernetes Ingress API which has been superseded by the Kubernetes Gateway API. The Gateway API aims to enhance the configuration and management of Kubernetes ingress, service discovery, load balancing, and traffic routing by providing a unified and extensible API that integrates with Kubernetes’ native resources such as Services, Endpoints, and Ingresses. Envoy Gateway is the most advanced implementation of the Gateway API.
Using Envoy Gateway to replace NGINX for Kubernetes Ingress offers several advantages, particularly for advanced use cases and modern application architectures.
Envoy vs NGINX: Which Is Better?
| Envoy Gateway | NGINX |
|---|---|
| Advanced Traffic Management | |
| Layer 7 Routing: Envoy provides sophisticated Layer 7 routing capabilities, including HTTP/2, gRPC, and WebSocket support. Dynamic Configuration: Envoy can dynamically update configurations without restarts, which is useful for continuous delivery and deployment pipelines. | NGINX also offers Layer 7 routing but may require additional modules or configurations to achieve the same level of sophistication as Envoy. |
| Observability and Monitoring | |
| Built-in Telemetry: Envoy has extensive built-in telemetry, including metrics, logging, and tracing. It integrates seamlessly with monitoring tools like Prometheus, Grafana, and Jaeger. Detailed Metrics: Provides granular insights into traffic patterns and performance. | NGINX offers basic logging and monitoring, but it may require additional tools and configurations to achieve the same level of observability as Envoy. |
| Integration with Service Mesh | |
| Native Integration: Envoy is a core component of service mesh technologies like Istio and Consul. It supports advanced service mesh features such as mutual TLS, traffic splitting, and fault injection. Consistent Proxy: Using Envoy for ingress and as a sidecar in a service mesh ensures consistency in routing and security policies. | NGINX can be used with service meshes, but it is not as tightly integrated as Envoy, which might lead to inconsistent configurations and additional complexity. |
| Performance and Scalability | |
| High Performance: Envoy is designed for high performance and scalability, capable of handling large volumes of traffic with low latency. Modern Architecture: It uses an asynchronous, event-driven architecture that efficiently manages resources. | NGINX is also performant and scalable, but Envoy’s modern architecture and optimizations often provide better performance for complex routing scenarios.Extensibility and Customization |
| Extensibility and Customization | |
| Filters and Extensions: Envoy supports a rich set of filters and extensions, allowing for deep customization of traffic handling and processing. API-Driven: It provides APIs for dynamic configuration and management, which is beneficial for automation and integration with CI/CD pipelines. | NGINX is extensible through modules, but adding custom functionality may require more effort compared to Envoy’s filter-based approach. |
| Security | |
| Security Features: Envoy offers advanced security features, including mutual TLS, JWT authentication, and rate limiting. Isolation: Envoy’s architecture isolates different concerns, improving security and fault tolerance. | NGINX provides solid security features but may require additional configurations and modules to match Envoy’s capabilities in some areas. |
| Community and Ecosystem | |
| Active Community: Envoy has a vibrant and growing community with strong support from major cloud providers and technology companies. Rapid Innovation: Regular updates and new features are released, driven by an active open-source community. | NGINX also has a strong community and commercial backing, but the pace of innovation in Envoy, especially in areas like service mesh and observability, is a significant advantage. |
By using Envoy Gateway, you can leverage these advanced features and capabilities to better manage and optimize your Kubernetes ingress traffic, making it a compelling choice for modern cloud-native environments. Get started with Envoy Gateway today ›
FAQs
What is the difference between NGINX and NGINX Plus?
NGINX Plus is the commercial version of NGINX, offering additional features like advanced load balancing, enhanced security, and dedicated support.
Can NGINX be used for Windows servers?
Yes, NGINX can be installed and run on Windows servers, although it is more commonly used on Unix-based systems.
How does NGINX handle SSL termination?
NGINX handles SSL termination by decrypting incoming SSL/TLS traffic and forwarding it as plain HTTP to backend servers, simplifying certificate management and offloading encryption tasks.
Is NGINX suitable for small websites?
Absolutely! NGINX’s low resource consumption and high performance make it an excellent choice for small websites and blogs.
How does Traefik compare to NGINX?
You can read our article about using Traefik as a Kubernetes Ingress controller