Preface
NGINX is a high-performance web server designed to use very few system
resources. There are many how-to's and example configurations floating around on
the Web. This guide will serve to clarify the murky waters of NGINX configuration.
In doing so you will learn how to tune NGINX for various situations, what some of
the more obscure configuration options do, and how to design a decent configuration
to match your needs.
You will no longer feel the need to copy-paste a configuration snippet because you
will understand how to construct a configuration file to do exactly what you want
it to do. This is a process, and there will be bumps along the way, but with the tips
explained in this book you will feel comfortable writing an NGINX configuration
file by hand. In case something doesn't work as expected, you will be able to debug
the problem yourself or at least be capable of asking for help without feeling like
you haven't given it a try yourself.
This book is written in a modular fashion. It is laid out to help you get to the
information you need as quickly as possible. Each chapter is pretty much a standalone
piece. Feel free to jump in anywhere you feel you need to get more in-depth about a
particular topic. If you feel you have missed something major, go back and read the
earlier chapters. They are constructed in a way to help you grow your configuration
piece-by-piece.