Master NGINX Web Server: Beginner to Advanced

Learn nginx file and directory structure on linux, including config files in /etc/nginx, sites-enabled and sites-available, and the web root at /var/www, plus access and error logs in /var/log/nginx.

Master nginx from the command line using sudo and systemctl to start, stop, and reload, check status, test config with lowercase d and uppercase D, using -P or a pager.

Configure nginx location blocks to tailor request handling using exact, prefix, and regex matches, nest directives, enable auto index, and use internal redirects for testing error pages.

Configure nginx logs by adding access and error log directives in the server and location context, then reload and test by issuing requests and inspecting the resulting log files.

Master practical nginx troubleshooting to resolve configuration errors, verify nginx is running, reload configs, check ports and open files, and monitor logs for 400 errors.

Define the LEMP stack by identifying Linux as the operating system, a web server, MySQL as the database, and PHP as the scripting language. Understand their dynamic role.

Install mariadb server and client, secure with mysql_secure_installation, set root password, disable remote root, remove anonymous accounts and test database, then create a demo database and user.

Learn how to secure sites with NGINX by keeping systems updated and restricting access by IP. Apply best practices and use SSL for encrypted, verified connections.

Configure https on nginx by creating a self-signed tls certificate with the ssl module, enabling encrypted traffic to protect sensitive data like credit cards and ssn.

Configure nginx as a reverse proxy by defining upstream backends, setting up a proxy location, and enabling simple load balancing to route requests to backend services.

Learn how to configure nginx as a load balancer by setting up upstream blocks and using methods such as round robin, least connections, and ip_hash to balance traffic across servers.