Nginx
Encyclopedia
nginx is a Web server
and a reverse proxy
server for HTTP, SMTP, POP3 and IMAP protocols, with a strong focus on high concurrency
, performance and low memory
usage. It is licensed under a BSD
-like license and it runs on Unix
, Linux
, BSD variants, Mac OS X
, Solaris, and Microsoft Windows
.
handlers for scripts
, and can serve as a very capable software load balancer
.
Nginx uses an asynchronous event-driven
approach to handling requests which provides more predictable performance under load, in contrast to the Apache
HTTP server model that uses a threaded
or process
-oriented approach to handling requests.
s run by Rambler
, for which it was serving 500 million requests per day as of September 2008.
According to Netcraft
's November 2011 Web Server Survey, nginx was found to be the third most widely used web server across all domains (8.5% of surveyed sites) and the third most widely used web server for all “active” sites (11.6% of surveyed sites). According to BuiltWith, it is used on 11.88% of the top 10 000 websites, and its growth within the top 10k, 100k and 1 million segments is increasing.
Web server
Web server can refer to either the hardware or the software that helps to deliver content that can be accessed through the Internet....
and a reverse proxy
Reverse proxy
In computer networks, a reverse proxy is a type of proxy server that retrieves resources on behalf of a client from one or more servers. These resources are then returned to the client as though it originated from the reverse proxy itself...
server for HTTP, SMTP, POP3 and IMAP protocols, with a strong focus on high concurrency
Concurrency (computer science)
In computer science, concurrency is a property of systems in which several computations are executing simultaneously, and potentially interacting with each other...
, performance and low memory
Random-access memory
Random access memory is a form of computer data storage. Today, it takes the form of integrated circuits that allow stored data to be accessed in any order with a worst case performance of constant time. Strictly speaking, modern types of DRAM are therefore not random access, as data is read in...
usage. It is licensed under a BSD
BSD licenses
BSD licenses are a family of permissive free software licenses. The original license was used for the Berkeley Software Distribution , a Unix-like operating system after which it is named....
-like license and it runs on Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
, Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, BSD variants, Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
, Solaris, and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
.
Overview
Nginx quickly delivers static content with efficient use of system resources. It can deploy dynamic HTTP content on a network using FastCGIFastCGI
FastCGI is a protocol for interfacing interactive programs with a web server. FastCGI is a variation on the earlier Common Gateway Interface ; FastCGI's main aim is to reduce the overhead associated with interfacing the web server and CGI programs, allowing a server to handle more web page...
handlers for scripts
Scripting language
A scripting language, script language, or extension language is a programming language that allows control of one or more applications. "Scripts" are distinct from the core code of the application, as they are usually written in a different language and are often created or at least modified by the...
, and can serve as a very capable software load balancer
Load balancing (computing)
Load balancing is a computer networking methodology to distribute workload across multiple computers or a computer cluster, network links, central processing units, disk drives, or other resources, to achieve optimal resource utilization, maximize throughput, minimize response time, and avoid...
.
Nginx uses an asynchronous event-driven
Event (computing)
In computing an event is an action that is usually initiated outside the scope of a program and that is handled by a piece of code inside the program. Typically events are handled synchronous with the program flow, that is, the program has one or more dedicated places where events are handled...
approach to handling requests which provides more predictable performance under load, in contrast to the Apache
Apache HTTP Server
The Apache HTTP Server, commonly referred to as Apache , is web server software notable for playing a key role in the initial growth of the World Wide Web. In 2009 it became the first web server software to surpass the 100 million website milestone...
HTTP server model that uses a threaded
Thread (computer science)
In computer science, a thread of execution is the smallest unit of processing that can be scheduled by an operating system. The implementation of threads and processes differs from one operating system to another, but in most cases, a thread is contained inside a process...
or process
Process (computing)
In computing, a process is an instance of a computer program that is being executed. It contains the program code and its current activity. Depending on the operating system , a process may be made up of multiple threads of execution that execute instructions concurrently.A computer program is a...
-oriented approach to handling requests.
Usage
Originally, nginx was developed to fill the needs of various websiteWebsite
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
s run by Rambler
Rambler (portal)
Rambler is a Russian search engine and one of the biggest Russian web portals. It is owned by the Rambler Media Group, which has belonged to Prof-Media since 2006....
, for which it was serving 500 million requests per day as of September 2008.
According to Netcraft
Netcraft
Netcraft is an Internet services company based in Bath, England.Netcraft provides web server and web hosting market-share analysis, including web server and operating system detection...
's November 2011 Web Server Survey, nginx was found to be the third most widely used web server across all domains (8.5% of surveyed sites) and the third most widely used web server for all “active” sites (11.6% of surveyed sites). According to BuiltWith, it is used on 11.88% of the top 10 000 websites, and its growth within the top 10k, 100k and 1 million segments is increasing.
Basic HTTP features
- Handling of static files, index files, and auto-indexing
- Reverse proxyReverse proxyIn computer networks, a reverse proxy is a type of proxy server that retrieves resources on behalf of a client from one or more servers. These resources are then returned to the client as though it originated from the reverse proxy itself...
with caching - Load balancingLoad balancing (computing)Load balancing is a computer networking methodology to distribute workload across multiple computers or a computer cluster, network links, central processing units, disk drives, or other resources, to achieve optimal resource utilization, maximize throughput, minimize response time, and avoid...
- Fault tolerance
- SSL support
- FastCGIFastCGIFastCGI is a protocol for interfacing interactive programs with a web server. FastCGI is a variation on the earlier Common Gateway Interface ; FastCGI's main aim is to reduce the overhead associated with interfacing the web server and CGI programs, allowing a server to handle more web page...
support with caching - Name- and IP-based virtual servers
- FLVFLVFlash Video is a container file format used to deliver video over the Internet using Adobe Flash Player versions 6–11. Flash Video content may also be embedded within SWF files. There are two different video file formats known as Flash Video: FLV and F4V. The audio and video data within FLV files...
streaming - MP4 streaming, using the contrib MP4 Streaming Lite module (not updated since 2008) or since version 1.1.3 using the built-in MP4 Streaming Module
- Web page access authentication
- gzipGzipGzip is any of several software applications used for file compression and decompression. The term usually refers to the GNU Project's implementation, "gzip" standing for GNU zip. It is based on the DEFLATE algorithm, which is a combination of Lempel-Ziv and Huffman coding...
compression - Ability to handle more than 10000 simultaneous connectionsC10k problemThe C10k problem refers to the problem of optimising web server software to handle a large number of clients at the same time . The problem of web server optimisation has been studied because a number of factors must be considered to allow a web server to support many clients...
- URL rewriting
- Custom logging
- Server-side includes
- WebDAVWebDAVWeb-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning is a set of methods based on the Hypertext Transfer Protocol that facilitates collaboration between users in editing and managing documents and files stored on World Wide Web servers...
Mail proxy features
- SMTP, POP3, and IMAP proxyProxy serverIn computer networks, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource available from a different server...
- STARTTLSSTARTTLSSTARTTLS is an extension to plain text communication protocols, which offers a way to upgrade a plain text connection to an encrypted connection instead of using a separate port for encrypted communication....
support - SSL support
See also
- Comparison of web server softwareComparison of web server software-Overview:-Features:- Operating system support :...
- Web acceleratorWeb acceleratorA web accelerator is a proxy server that reduces web site access times. They can be a self-contained hardware appliance or installable software....
- Proxy serverProxy serverIn computer networks, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource available from a different server...
- Reverse proxyReverse proxyIn computer networks, a reverse proxy is a type of proxy server that retrieves resources on behalf of a client from one or more servers. These resources are then returned to the client as though it originated from the reverse proxy itself...
External links
- Cygwin-based Windows builds of Nginx for Windows 32-bit and Windows 64-bit
- Nginx: the High-Performance Web Server and Reverse Proxy, By Will Reese, Sep 01, 2008, Linux Journal