View source for NGINX

# NGINX Server Configuration

This article provides a comprehensive guide to configuring NGINX as a reverse proxy and web server for your [[MediaWiki]] installation. NGINX is a popular choice due to its high performance, stability, and rich feature set. This guide assumes you have a basic understanding of Linux server administration and networking concepts. We will focus on a typical setup, with considerations for security and performance optimization.

== Understanding the Role of NGINX

NGINX acts as an intermediary between clients (web browsers) and your MediaWiki server. It offers several benefits:

*   **Load Balancing:** Distributes traffic across multiple MediaWiki servers for increased capacity and redundancy.  See [[Load balancing]] for more information.
*   **Reverse Proxy:** Hides the internal structure of your server network, enhancing security.
*   **Static Content Serving:**  Efficiently serves static files (images, CSS, JavaScript) reducing load on the MediaWiki application server.
*   **SSL/TLS Termination:** Handles encryption/decryption, freeing up resources on the MediaWiki server. See [[Secure MediaWiki]] for SSL configurations.
*   **Caching:** Caches frequently accessed content, improving response times.

== Prerequisites

Before beginning, ensure you have:

*   A Linux server (e.g., Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS) with root access.
*   NGINX installed.  Use your distribution’s package manager (e.g., `apt-get install nginx` or `yum install nginx`).
*   A working MediaWiki installation.  Refer to the [[Installation guide]] for details.
*   A registered domain name pointing to your server’s IP address. This is crucial for proper operation.  See [[Domain names]] for more information.



== Basic NGINX Configuration

The main NGINX configuration file is typically located at `/etc/nginx/nginx.conf`.  However, it’s best practice to create a separate configuration file for your MediaWiki site within the `/etc/nginx/sites-available/` directory and then symlink it to `/etc/nginx/sites-enabled/`.

Here's a basic configuration example for ` /etc/nginx/sites-available/mediawiki`:

```nginx
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com; # Replace with your domain

    root /var/www/mediawiki; # Replace with your MediaWiki installation directory

    index index.php;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php7.4-fpm.sock; # Adjust PHP version if needed. See [[PHP Configuration]].
    }

    location ~ /\.ht {
        deny all;
    }
}
```

Remember to replace `yourdomain.com` with your actual domain name and `/var/www/mediawiki` with the correct path to your MediaWiki installation.  The PHP-FPM socket path may also need adjustment based on your PHP version.

== Advanced Configuration and Optimization

Several options can be used to optimize NGINX for MediaWiki.

=== Caching ===

NGINX caching can significantly improve performance.  Here's an example of configuring caching for static assets:

```nginx
location ~* \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|ico|css|js)$ {
    expires 30d;
    add_header Cache-Control "public, max-age=2592000";
}
```

This configuration caches static files for 30 days. Adjust the `expires` value and `Cache-Control` header as needed.  See [[Caching strategies]] for more details.

=== SSL/TLS Configuration ===

To enable HTTPS, you need an SSL certificate. Let's Encrypt provides free certificates.  Once you have a certificate, configure NGINX to use it:

```nginx
server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem; # Replace with your certificate path
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/privkey.pem; # Replace with your key path

    root /var/www/mediawiki;
    index index.php;

    # ... (rest of the configuration as before) ...
}

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com;
    return 301 https://$host$request_uri; # Redirect HTTP to HTTPS
}
```

=== Performance Tuning ===

The following table outlines some key NGINX performance tuning parameters:

{| class="wikitable"
! Parameter
! Description
! Default Value
! Recommended Value
|-
| `worker_processes`
| Number of worker processes.
| 1
| Number of CPU cores
|-
| `worker_connections`
| Maximum number of connections per worker process.
| 512
| 1024 (or higher, depending on server resources)
|-
| `keepalive_timeout`
| Timeout for keep-alive connections.
| 60s
| 75s
|-
| `client_max_body_size`
| Maximum allowed size for client request body.
| 1m
| 10m (or higher, if you allow large file uploads)
|}

Adjust these parameters based on your server’s hardware and traffic patterns.  See [[NGINX performance tuning]] for a more in-depth discussion.

== Security Considerations

*   **Firewall:** Configure a firewall (e.g., `ufw`, `firewalld`) to only allow traffic on ports 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS).  See [[Firewall configuration]].
*   **Regular Updates:** Keep NGINX and your operating system up-to-date with the latest security patches.
*   **Disable Server Signature:** Hide the NGINX version number in error pages by adding `server_tokens off;` to your NGINX configuration.
*   **Limit Access to Sensitive Files:**  Restrict access to configuration files and log files.

== Troubleshooting

{| class="wikitable"
! Problem
! Possible Solution
|-
| 502 Bad Gateway
| PHP-FPM is not running or is misconfigured. Check PHP-FPM logs. Ensure the `fastcgi_pass` directive points to the correct socket.
|-
| 504 Gateway Timeout
| NGINX is timing out while waiting for a response from MediaWiki. Increase `proxy_read_timeout` and `proxy_connect_timeout` in your NGINX configuration.
|-
| MediaWiki files not loading
| Incorrect `root` directive in your NGINX configuration. Verify the path to your MediaWiki installation directory.
|}

If you encounter issues, examine the NGINX error logs (typically located at `/var/log/nginx/error.log`) for clues.  Also, check the PHP-FPM logs for PHP-related errors.  Consult the [[Debugging guide]] for advanced troubleshooting techniques.

== Important Links

*   [[MediaWiki]]
*   [[Installation guide]]
*   [[PHP Configuration]]
*   [[Secure MediaWiki]]
*   [[Load balancing]]
*   [[Caching strategies]]
*   [[NGINX performance tuning]]
*   [[Firewall configuration]]
*   [[Debugging guide]]
*   [[Domain names]]
*   [[Server Hardware]]
*   [[Reverse Proxy]]
*   [[SSL Certificates]]
*   [[NGINX documentation]]
*   [[PHP-FPM documentation]]

[[Category:Server Hardware]]


== Intel-Based Server Configurations ==
{| class="wikitable"
! Configuration
! Specifications
! Benchmark
|-
| [[Core i7-6700K/7700 Server]]
| 64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 512 GB
| CPU Benchmark: 8046
|-
| [[Core i7-8700 Server]]
| 64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2x1 TB
| CPU Benchmark: 13124
|-
| [[Core i9-9900K Server]]
| 128 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 1 TB
| CPU Benchmark: 49969
|-
| [[Core i9-13900 Server (64GB)]]
| 64 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD
| 
|-
| [[Core i9-13900 Server (128GB)]]
| 128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD
| 
|-
| [[Core i5-13500 Server (64GB)]]
| 64 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD
| 
|-
| [[Core i5-13500 Server (128GB)]]
| 128 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD
| 
|-
| [[Core i5-13500 Workstation]]
| 64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2 NVMe SSD, NVIDIA RTX 4000
| 
|}

== AMD-Based Server Configurations ==
{| class="wikitable"
! Configuration
! Specifications
! Benchmark
|-
| [[Ryzen 5 3600 Server]]
| 64 GB RAM, 2x480 GB NVMe
| CPU Benchmark: 17849
|-
| [[Ryzen 7 7700 Server]]
| 64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2x1 TB NVMe
| CPU Benchmark: 35224
|-
| [[Ryzen 9 5950X Server]]
| 128 GB RAM, 2x4 TB NVMe
| CPU Benchmark: 46045
|-
| [[Ryzen 9 7950X Server]]
| 128 GB DDR5 ECC, 2x2 TB NVMe
| CPU Benchmark: 63561
|-
| [[EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/1TB)]]
| 128 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe
| CPU Benchmark: 48021
|-
| [[EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/2TB)]]
| 128 GB RAM, 2 TB NVMe
| CPU Benchmark: 48021
|-
| [[EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/4TB)]]
| 128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe
| CPU Benchmark: 48021
|-
| [[EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/1TB)]]
| 256 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe
| CPU Benchmark: 48021
|-
| [[EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/4TB)]]
| 256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe
| CPU Benchmark: 48021
|-
| [[EPYC 9454P Server]]
| 256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe
| 
|}

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