Nginx Server Setup and Configuration Guide¶

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for setting up and configuring an Nginx web server on a Virtual Machine.

Prerequisites¶

Access to a Virtual Machine
SSH access to the VM
Administrative (sudo) privileges

Installation and Basic Setup¶

1. Install Nginx¶

First, update your package list and install Nginx:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y nginx

2. Configure Nginx¶

2.1 Open the default configuration file:¶

nano /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default

2.2 Replace the existing configuration with:¶

server {
    listen 80 default_server;
    listen [::]:80 default_server;

    # Use a dedicated web directory
    root /var/www/html;

    index index.html;

    server_name _;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html;
    }
}

This configuration: - Listens on port 80 (HTTP) - Sets the root directory to /var/www/html - Uses index.html as the default page - Implements a basic URL fallback mechanism

Website Content Setup¶

1. Create Web Directory and HTML File¶

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/html
sudo nano /var/www/html/index.html

2. Add Basic HTML Content¶

Create a simple HTML file with the following content:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Welcome</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Welcome to my site!</h1>
</body>
</html>

Security and Permissions¶

1. Set Correct Ownership¶

Assign the appropriate user and group ownership:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html

2. Set File Permissions¶

Set the correct file permissions for the web directory:

sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html

3. Verify Permissions¶

Confirm the file permissions are set correctly:

ls -l /var/www/html/index.html

Server Management¶

1. Restart Nginx¶

After making configuration changes, restart the Nginx service:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

2. Troubleshooting¶

If you encounter issues, check the Nginx error logs:

sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

Verification¶

After completing all steps, verify your setup by: 1. Accessing your server's IP address or domain name in a web browser 2. Checking that the welcome page loads correctly 3. Reviewing error logs if any issues occur

Common Issues and Solutions¶

If the page doesn't load, verify that:
Nginx service is running
Firewall allows traffic on port 80
File permissions are set correctly
Configuration syntax is correct
Error logs show no critical issues

Additional Resources¶

Nginx official documentation
Ubuntu server guide
Linux permissions documentation

Security Notes¶

Remember to: - Regularly update your system - Configure SSL/TLS for production use - Implement proper security measures - Back up your configuration files