Nginx Load Balancing and Reverse Proxy

Master load balancing and reverse proxy patterns with Nginx to build resilient, scalable infrastructure.

intermediate
local
Infrastructure
75 minutes
7 steps
Prerequisites
  • Basic networking knowledge
  • Docker fundamentals
  • Command line proficiency
Learning Objectives
  • Configure Nginx as a reverse proxy
  • Implement load balancing strategies
  • Set up health checks and failover
  • Optimize for production workloads
Technologies Used
Nginx
Docker
Node.js
Load Balancing
Exercise Steps
1

Create Multiple Backend Services

Current

Set up three identical backend services that will demonstrate load balancing behavior.

2

Containerize Backend Services

Create a Docker Compose setup with three backend instances.

3

Configure Basic Reverse Proxy

Set up Nginx as a reverse proxy to forward requests to a single backend.

4

Implement Load Balancing

Configure Nginx to distribute traffic across all three backend servers using round-robin.

5

Add Health Checks and Failover

Configure active health checks and automatic failover when backends become unhealthy.

6

Explore Load Balancing Strategies

Test different load balancing algorithms: least connections and IP hash.

7

Monitoring and Performance Tuning

Add monitoring and optimize Nginx for production performance.

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