Intermediate Config introduction

Welcome back! In this lesson, we’ll explore several powerful Nginx capabilities that are essential for production-grade deployments. We’ll focus on the most common patterns and best practices, including:

1. Hosting Multiple Domains (Server Blocks)
   Use server_name directives to serve different websites from a single Nginx instance.

2. Redirects with the return Directive
   Implement HTTP-to-HTTPS redirects and simple URL redirections using return.

3. URL Rewriting & Regex (Rewrite Module)
   Leverage regular expressions and the rewrite directive to transform and route incoming requests dynamically.

4. Defining Upstream Pools
   Configure upstream blocks to group backend servers and manage proxy targets.

5. Load Balancing Strategies
   Explore Nginx’s built-in algorithms—round robin, weighted, least connections, and more—to distribute traffic efficiently.

6. Reverse Proxy Configuration
   Route client requests to application servers running on different hosts or ports with the proxy_pass directive.

7. Caching for Performance
   Enable and tune Nginx’s caching mechanisms (proxy_cache, fastcgi_cache) to reduce backend load and improve response times.

In the sections that follow, we’ll dive into each topic with clear configuration examples, performance tips, and security considerations. Let’s get started!