Nginx Proxy Manager Guide

Using Nginx as a reverse proxy allows you to direct client traffic to multiple backend servers, providing both improved performance and increased security. Acting as a barrier between users and backend applications, Nginx offers powerful tools for managing load distribution, SSL encryption, and request headers. This guide will guide you through the steps to configure Nginx as a reverse proxy on popular platforms like Ubuntu and Docker.

Setup Requirements

Before beginning the setup for Nginx as a reverse proxy, please ensure you possess the following:

• Administrator or sudo access to the server, necessary for making system-level configurations.
• Nginx set up on your server (if Nginx is not installed, see the installation instructions below).
• Foundational command-line skills to proceed with terminal commands.

This guide is prepared for major server OS environments like Ubuntu and CentOS, offering flexibility across various setups. Ensuring these prerequisites are in place will help setting up a reliable proxy server environment.

Benefits of Using Nginx as a Reverse Proxy

Nginx is widely chosen as a reverse proxy for its performance and versatility. Here are some reasons why Nginx is a effective solution for server traffic management:

• Load balancing: Nginx distributes incoming requests across multiple backend servers, avoiding overload on any single server and offering smoother application performance.
• Caching: With caching, Nginx stores copies of static resources, lowering server load and ensuring faster responses to users.
• SSL termination: Nginx can manage SSL connections at the proxy level, consolidating HTTPS management and offloading encryption tasks for backend servers.

These features make Nginx a preferred choice as a proxy server for applications demanding reliability, scalability, and secure data handling.

Installation and Basic Setup

To install Nginx, execute these commands based on your operating system:

On Ubuntu, use the command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install nginx

For CentOS, the command to install Nginx is:

sudo yum install nginx

After installation, enable Nginx to launch at boot with:

sudo systemctl enable nginx

Now that Nginx is set up, your server is set for further configuration as a reverse proxy.

Configuring Nginx as a Reverse Proxy

To set up Nginx as a reverse proxy, you’ll need to adjust the Nginx configuration file, commonly found at nginx.conf, or a specific site configuration file. Here is a initial setup:

server {     listen 80;     server_name example.com;      location /          proxy_pass http://backend_server;         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;      }

Explanation of key setup options:

• proxy_pass: Directs traffic to the backend server specified by its IP or URL. This is the essential setting for enabling reverse proxy functionality.
• proxy_set_header: Defines headers that transmit client information, such as IP address and request protocol, to the backend, ensuring accurate tracking and logging.

This configuration allows Nginx to manage incoming requests and forward them to backend servers effectively, laying the groundwork for a versatile and expandable proxy server.

Initial Setup and Installation

To begin configuring Nginx as a reverse proxy, the starting point is to ensure Nginx is installed on your server. The following steps detail the installation process for both Ubuntu and CentOS platforms.

On Ubuntu: Refresh the system package list and install Nginx by running:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install nginx

On CentOS: Use this command to deploy Nginx:

sudo yum install nginx

After installing Nginx, it’s advised to set it up to start automatically with your server’s boot process. This guarantees that the proxy server is always running. Enable this setting by running:

sudo systemctl enable nginx

With Nginx installed and set to start automatically, the basic nginx setup is complete. You’re now prepared to continue with configuring Nginx as a reverse proxy.

Nginx Reverse Proxy Configuration

Next, we’ll modify Nginx’s configuration to act as a reverse proxy. This often includes editing the nginx.conf file or setting up a site-specific configuration file within /etc/nginx/conf.d/. Below is a example configuration for routing requests to a backend server:

server {     listen 80;     server_name example.com;      location /          proxy_pass http://backend_server;         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;      }

Explanation of the main configuration settings:

• proxy_pass: This command specifies where incoming traffic is forwarded. Replace http://backend_server with the specific IP or hostname of your backend server.
• proxy_set_header: These options configure headers to send important client information, such as the IP address and protocol (HTTP or HTTPS), to the backend server, which assists in accurate request handling and logging.

This configuration allows Nginx to operate as a reverse proxy, forwarding client requests to the backend server while maintaining client information for effective management of requests.

Verifying the Setup

After preparing Nginx as a reverse proxy, it’s essential to test the configuration to ensure it’s functioning properly. To verify the syntax of your nginx.conf file, use:

sudo nginx -t

If the configuration is correct, you’ll get a success message. In case of errors, the output will indicate specific details on where to locate and correct any problems.

Once validated, reload Nginx to apply the changes with this command:

sudo systemctl reload nginx

If there are issues, here are a few troubleshooting tips for your proxy server setup:

• Syntax errors: Even a small typo can lead to problems. Use nginx -t to verify for any syntax errors in the nginx.conf file.
• Check backend connectivity: Ensure that the backend server in proxy_pass is accessible. Use ping or curl to test connectivity.
• Firewall settings: Confirm that necessary ports (80 for HTTP and 443 for HTTPS) are enabled to allow traffic through the reverse proxy.

After testing and troubleshooting, your Nginx reverse proxy should be fully functional, seamlessly directing traffic to your backend servers and managing client requests.

SSL Security for the Reverse Proxy (Optional)

Securing your Nginx reverse proxy with SSL is important for protecting client data and allowing secure HTTPS connections. Let’s Encrypt is a common solution for obtaining free SSL certificates, though you can also use other SSL providers.

Step 1: Start by installing Certbot, a tool for obtaining and managing SSL certificates from Let’s Encrypt:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx

Step 2: Use Certbot to request an SSL certificate and automatically configure it with Nginx:

sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com

This command encrypts your proxy server by redirecting all traffic to HTTPS and setting up automatic renewals to maintain your SSL certificates current.

If you prefer another SSL provider, configure Nginx yourself as follows:

server {     listen 443 ssl;     server_name yourdomain.com;      ssl_certificate /path/to/your_certificate.crt;     ssl_certificate_key /path/to/private_key.key;      location /          proxy_pass http://backend_server;         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;      }

With this setup, your Nginx reverse proxy will handle HTTPS traffic securely, ensuring encrypted data transmission for users.

Additional Configuration Tips

To maximize the efficiency of your Nginx reverse proxy, consider implementing additional settings like caching, load balancing, and custom headers for better performance and security.

• Caching: Enable caching to store frequently accessed resources, reducing the load on your backend server. Here’s a simple configuration:

proxy_cache_path /var/cache/nginx levels=1:2 keys_zone=my_cache:10m max_size=1g; server {     location /          proxy_cache my_cache;         proxy_pass http://backend_server;      }

• Load Balancing: Distribute incoming traffic across multiple servers to improve application reliability. Configure load balancing as follows:

upstream backend_servers      server backend1.example.com;     server backend2.example.com;  server {     location /          proxy_pass http://backend_servers;      }

• Custom Headers: Add security headers to protect against certain attacks:

add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff"; add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN";

These configurations improve the capabilities of your nginx setup, allowing it to function as a secure and high-performing proxy server.

Reverse Proxy for Docker Containers

Nginx is also ideal to serve as a reverse proxy in Docker environments, simplifying to manage traffic to Docker-based applications. Use the following steps to configure it:

Step 1: Set up a Docker network for your containers:

docker network create app_network

Step 2: Start your application container and connect it to the network:

docker run -d --name app_container --network app_network my_app_image

Step 3: Start an Nginx container as a reverse proxy within the same network:

docker run -d -p 80:80 -p 443:443 --name nginx_proxy --network app_network -v /path/to/nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf nginx

This arrangement allows Nginx to efficiently route traffic to your Docker containers, delivering a streamlined management solution for containerized services.

Common Use Cases and Examples

Nginx as a reverse proxy is used widely across many applications. Below are some typical examples:

• Node.js Applications: Nginx can load balance and cache static assets for Node.js apps, improving both performance and scalability.
• Python Frameworks: Nginx is often used as a proxy server for Django and Flask, ensuring secure traffic flow and adding SSL.
• Apache Pairing: By serving as a reverse proxy for Apache, Nginx deals with static content seamlessly while Apache manages dynamic requests.

For further resources and in-depth examples on using Nginx as a reverse proxy with different applications, check out our additional guides.

8.0 TOTAL SCORE

Bright Data

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• Starting Price: $0
• Industries: Marketing and Advertising, Computer Software
• Target Market: 61% Small Businesses, 24% Mid-Market

Bright Data is a global leader in web data, proxies, and data scraping solutions. It supports Fortune 500 companies, educational institutions, and small businesses by providing the tools, network, and solutions necessary to access essential public web data with ease, reliability, and flexibility. These capabilities enable organizations to perform research, monitor activities, analyze data, and make better-informed decisions. With over 20,000 clients spanning almost every industry worldwide, Bright Data plays a pivotal role across diverse sectors.

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Proxy Routing 7

Proxy Rotation 8

Proxy Management 9

PROS

• Extensive IP range, global coverage, reliable, advanced
• Strong customer support and detailed documentation
• Versatile for various use cases

CONS

• High cost, less suitable for small-scale users
• Interface complexity and learning curve
• Some concerns over compliance and privacy policies

7.7 TOTAL SCORE

Sslprivateproxy

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• Free trial available
• Industries: Marketing and Advertising, Computer Software
• Target Market: 92% Small Businesses, 7% Mid-Market

Sslprivateproxy is recognized as one of the most convenient ways to access local data from anywhere, with a global reach extending across 195 locations and over 40 million residential proxies. Its key strengths include 24/7 technical support, multiple proxy options, four specialized scraping tools, flexible payment methods, a public API, and an intuitive dashboard. These features make Sslprivateproxy a trusted and dependable proxy service provider in the industry.

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Proxy Routing 8

Proxy Rotation 8

Proxy Management 7

PROS

• User-friendly, good for beginners, affordable
• Decent IP pool, residential IPs
• Good customer service

CONS

• Limited features for advanced users
• Occasional speed issues
• Some concerns over session control

8.3 TOTAL SCORE

Smartdnsproxy

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• Starting Price: From $1.39
• Industries: Computer Software, Information Technology and Services
• Target Market: 49% Small Businesses, 38% Mid-Market

Smartdnsproxy is a leading web intelligence platform trusted by over 2,000 partners worldwide, including many Fortune Global 500 companies, academic institutions, and researchers. It offers top-tier web data collection solutions such as proxy services, Scraper APIs, and pre-compiled datasets. With a powerful network of over 102 million IPs spanning 195 countries, Smartdnsproxy is recognized for maintaining one of the most reliable proxy infrastructures in the industry.

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Proxy Routing 8

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Proxy Management 8

PROS

• Large IP pool, strong for scraping, reliable
• Excellent uptime, diverse geographic coverage
• Good for large-scale operations

CONS

• Premium pricing
• Complexity for beginners
• Some reports of IPs getting blocked

8.7 TOTAL SCORE

SOAX

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• Starting Price: $99.00
• Industries: Marketing and Advertising, Information Technology and Services
• Target Market: 78% Small Businesses, 16% Mid-Market

SOAX is a sophisticated data collection platform, trusted by leading companies for gathering public web data. Businesses choose SOAX to boost efficiency, reduce costs, and streamline processes. The platform features a network of ethically sourced proxy servers, tools for bypassing web restrictions, and APIs designed for web scraping. SOAX proxies are known for their outstanding performance, with a success rate of 99.55%, rapid response times of 0.55 seconds, and minimal CAPTCHA challenges.

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Proxy Rotation 9

Proxy Management 9

PROS

• Flexible, easy-to-use, good for small to medium businesses
• Clean rotating residential IPs
• Responsive customer support

CONS

• Higher pricing for advanced features
• Limited IPs in certain regions
• Some reports of inconsistent speeds

8.0 TOTAL SCORE

Webshare

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• Starting Price: Free
• Industries: No data available
• Target Market: 50% Mid-Market, 50% Small Businesses

Webshare is a leader in enterprise proxy services, empowering businesses globally with comprehensive tools for data collection, aggregation, and analysis. From Fortune 500 companies to independent consultants, Webshare is trusted for a variety of critical operations, including market research, price comparison, data aggregation, malware analysis, and more.

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PROS

• Very affordable, suitable for personal use, easy to set up
• Offers free proxies for testing
• Decent speeds for entry-level users

CONS

• Basic features, not for complex tasks
• Smaller IP pool
• Some reliability issues

7.3 TOTAL SCORE

Infatica

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• Starting Price: $1.99
• Industries: Marketing and Advertising
• Target Market: 63% Small Businesses, 30% Mid-Market

Infatica operates a global proxy network, providing reliable Residential IPs tailored for various business applications, including:

• Price Comparison: Gathering price data from different perspectives, commonly used in travel and niche products.
• Ad Verification: Ensuring that advertisements reach the correct audience, that ad links function properly, and that advertising spaces are safe and compliant with regulations.
• Data Collection: Extracting information from websites to build new datasets for internal use or resale.
• Fraud Protection: Identifying and blocking malicious proxy usage by detecting known proxies used for fraudulent activities targeting businesses.

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Proxy Routing 7

Proxy Rotation 7

Proxy Management 8

PROS

• Ethical IP sourcing, good global coverage
• Diverse use cases, transparent policies
• Continuous network growth

CONS

• Newer, stability concerns
• Customer support improvement needed
• Limited advanced options for pros

7.0 TOTAL SCORE

Proxy-hub

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• Starting Price: 2-day free trial
• Industries: Marketing and Advertising
• Target Market: 53% Small Businesses, 25% Mid-Market

Proxy-hub is well-known for its exclusive datacenter proxies, while also offering shared datacenter, residential, and ISP proxies, available in both static and rotating forms. It’s a leading choice for a wide variety of customers. The provider offers a vast array of private datacenter proxies, featuring 300,000 IPs across nine ASNs, all hosted within its own data centers. Its peer-to-peer residential proxy network covers over 150 countries. Additionally, Proxy-hub's shared proxies come in three configurations: 1) a shared IP list spanning 11 countries, 2) rotating IPs assigned to specific ports, and 3) a proxy pool located in the US.

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PROS

• Competitive pricing, good privacy features
• Decent IP range, focus on security
• Growing network and features

CONS

• Less known, limited track record
• Need for more features
• Some user interface limitations

8.3 TOTAL SCORE

IPRoyal

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• Starting Price: From $1.39
• Industries: Information Technology and Services, Marketing and Advertising
• Target Market: 67% Small Businesses, 18% Mid-Market

At IPRoyal, we excel in providing high-quality proxy solutions, including residential, datacenter, ISP, mobile, and sneaker proxies. Our goal is to deliver reliable and scalable proxies, perfect for a wide range of applications where online privacy and unrestricted internet access are essential. These proxies offer great value for tasks such as web scraping, social media management, brand protection, market research, testing, automation, and more. Our residential proxy network is carefully built with genuine and ethically sourced IPs from 195 countries. We also offer city-specific targeting, pay-as-you-go pricing, and non-expiring traffic, making IPRoyal a flexible solution for your needs.

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Proxy Routing 9

Proxy Rotation 8

Proxy Management 8

PROS

• Cost-effective, easy-to-use for small projects
• Offers sneaker proxies, P2P residential IPs
• Regular updates and improvements

CONS

• Smaller network of IPs
• Not for large-scale operations
• Some reports of slow speeds

6.7 TOTAL SCORE

NetNut

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• Starting Price: $300.00
• Industries: No data available
• Target Market: 60% Small Businesses, 25% Mid-Market

NetNut is a top choice for businesses seeking the fastest residential proxies, with a network that exceeds 20 million residential IPs and continues to grow weekly. What makes NetNut unique is its direct partnership with ISPs, offering several standout advantages:

• A vast network of over 20 million residential IPs worldwide, with options for both global targeting and US city/state-specific selection.
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• Unrestricted access to web content, including search engines, without dependence on exit nodes.
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• A hybrid P2P network to improve scalability further.
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NetNut's residential proxies are assigned IPs linked to real residential locations, making them nearly impossible to block, making them perfect for numerous applications.

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Proxy Routing 7

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Proxy Management 7

PROS

• Stable connections, high speed and performance
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CONS

• More expensive, enterprise-focused
• Limited scalability for small users
• Some geographic coverage gaps

6.3 TOTAL SCORE

Zenrows

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• Starting Price: as low as $1 for 1 GB.
• Industries Served: No data available
• Target Market: 40% Small Businesses, 15% Mid-Market

Zenrows has been in the market for several years, making its mark with residential proxy services. Despite its long presence, the service remains relatively simple, but it's competitively priced. The network includes 7 million residential IPs, but testing showed a lower number of unique IPs than expected, leading to potential proxy repetition. For example, the US market provided only about 6,000 unique proxies. However, Zenrows excels in infrastructure. Its residential proxies outperformed competitors like NetNut and IPRoyal in some tests. With unlimited threads and proxy rotation on each request, users can expect enhanced efficiency and reliability.

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Proxy Routing 6

Proxy Rotation 7

Proxy Management 6

PROS

• Pay-as-you-go model, user-friendly for casual users
• Good for small-scale projects
• Responsive customer support

CONS

• Limited high-demand features
• Smaller IP network, performance issues
• Limited targeting options