Nginx Introduction and Uses

What is a Proxy?

A proxy is an intermediary that acts on behalf of another system. In networking, it sits between a client and a destination server.

Everyday Example

If your college network blocks a website and you use a VPN, your request first goes to the VPN server. That server then forwards the request to the target website.
This is an example of a forward proxy.

What is a Reverse Proxy?

A reverse proxy sits in front of your application servers and receives requests from users before forwarding them to backend services.

It is commonly used for:

• Routing traffic
• Security controls
• Load balancing
• Better performance and caching

Simple Example

Suppose a single machine runs two apps:

• web1.com on port 3000
• web2.com on port 4000

Instead of exposing ports publicly (web1.com:3000, web2.com:4000), Nginx can map clean domains to each backend service.

Reverse Proxy Setup with Nginx

1) Install Nginx

2) Configure Routing Rules

Open your Nginx config:

Minimal example:

3) Restart Nginx

With this setup, users access clean URLs while Nginx handles backend routing behind the scenes.

Read more in the official docs: Nginx Documentation.