Master Nginx Reverse Proxy: Step‑by‑Step Setup with Real‑World Examples

Introduction

In previous chapters we covered basic Nginx concepts. This article demonstrates two practical reverse‑proxy scenarios.

Nginx Reverse Proxy Example 1

1. Desired Result

Visiting www.test.com redirects to the Baidu homepage.

2. Preparation

(1) Install Nginx on a Linux system

1) Create a user for Nginx
useradd -M -s /sbin/nologin nginx
2) Download Nginx source
wget http://nginx.org/download/nginx-1.18.0.tar.gz
3) Extract
tar -xf nginx-1.18.0.tar.gz -C /usr/src
4) Configure
./configure --user=nginx --group=nginx --prefix=/usr/local/nginx --with-http_ssl_module
5) Build and install
make -j 4 && make install
6) Create a symlink for easy access
ln -s /usr/local/nginx/sbin/nginx /usr/local/sbin/
7) Verify version
nginx -v

(2) Edit the Nginx configuration file

vim /usr/local/nginx/conf/nginx.conf

server_name – the domain to listen for

proxy_pass URL – forward requests to the specified URL

(3) Restart Nginx

If an error appears, SSL support may be missing. Re‑configure with --with-http_ssl_module and rebuild.

./configure --user=nginx --group=nginx --prefix=/usr/local/nginx --with-http_ssl_module

Restart Nginx:

nginx -s stop && nginx

4. Access Test

If you encounter an error about a non‑existent IP address, enable non‑local bind:

echo 'net.ipv4.ip_nonlocal_bind = 1' >>/etc/sysctl.conf
sysctl -p

5. Process Analysis

Nginx Reverse Proxy Example 2

1. Desired Result

Use Nginx to route requests based on path to different backend services:

Port 9001 receives traffic.

Request http://10.43.187.251:9001/edu/ forwards to 127.0.0.1:8080.

Request http://10.43.187.251:9001/vod/ forwards to 127.0.0.1:8081.

2. Preparation

(1) Deploy two Tomcat servers

1) Download JDK
wget http://big.gxkjbg.com:8080/201704/tools/jdk-linux-x64.tar.gz
 tar -zxvf jdk-linux-x64.tar.gz -C /usr/src/
2) Set environment variables in /etc/profile
 export JAVA_HOME=/usr/src/jdk1.8.0_131
 export JAVA_BIN=$JAVA_HOME/bin
 export PATH=$JAVA_BIN:$PATH
 export CLASSPATH=.:$JAVA_HOME/lib/dt.jar:$JAVA_HOME/lib/tools.jar
source /etc/profile
3) Verify Java version
java -version

(2) Install and start two Tomcat instances

wget https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/apache/tomcat/tomcat-8/v8.5.54/bin/apache-tomcat-8.5.54.tar.gz
mkdir /usr/src/tomcat8080 /usr/src/tomcat8081
tar -zxvf apache-tomcat-8.5.54.tar.gz -C /usr/src/tomcat8080
tar -zxvf apache-tomcat-8.5.54.tar.gz -C /usr/src/tomcat8081
# Start first Tomcat (port 8080)
cd /usr/src/tomcat8080/apache-tomcat-8.5.54/bin
./startup.sh
# Change second Tomcat port to 8081
vim /usr/src/tomcat8081/apache-tomcat-8.5.54/conf/server.xml   # modify Connector port to 8081
# Start second Tomcat
cd /usr/src/tomcat8081/apache-tomcat-8.5.54/bin
./startup.sh

(3) Verify both Tomcat services are running

3. Create Test Pages

# On Tomcat1
cd /usr/src/tomcat8080/apache-tomcat-8.5.54/webapps
mkdir edu
echo "<h1>8080!</h1>" > edu/a.thml
# On Tomcat2
cd /usr/src/tomcat8081/apache-tomcat-8.5.54/webapps
mkdir vod
echo "<h1>8081!</h1>" > vod/a.thml

4. Edit Nginx Configuration

vim /usr/local/nginx/conf/nginx.conf

5. Final Test

The Nginx reverse‑proxy configuration successfully routes traffic to both Tomcat services.