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Catalogue / Infrastructure & systems

Nginx and Apache Web Servers in Production

Run nginx and Apache the way companies do — virtual hosts, rewrites, reverse proxy, caching, TLS, security headers, performance and troubleshooting 502/504 errors.

  • Intermediate to advanced
  • 11 lessons
  • 7 h 45 min

A MasterLinux course · Original text

What you will learn

  • Read the configuration an nginx or Apache server has actually loaded, includes and all
  • Write clean virtual hosts with a default block that rejects unknown names
  • Master location order, try_files, return and rewrite without redirect loops
  • Put nginx in front of an application as a reverse proxy, with the right headers and timeouts
  • Set up an nginx cache that protects the application during an outage or a traffic spike
  • Run Apache 2.4 with the event MPM, PHP-FPM and mod_rewrite
  • Configure modern TLS (TLS 1.2/1.3, HTTP/2, HSTS) and follow Let's Encrypt's 2025 changes
  • Add security headers that do not disappear, and rate-limit each client
  • Tune workers, file descriptors and keepalive to handle the load
  • Troubleshoot a 502 or 504 by reading the logs, then deliver a complete website

Course content

11 lessons · 7 h 45 min
Section 1 — Fundamentals3 lessons · 1 h 35 min
  1. Anatomy of a production web server — processes, files and the configuration actually loaded Preview30 min
  2. Virtual hosts — how nginx picks the site, default block and domain redirects 30 min
  3. location, try_files and rewrites — priority order, root versus alias and redirects without loops 35 min
Section 2 — Proxy, cache and Apache4 lessons · 2 h 40 min
  1. nginx as a reverse proxy — proxy_pass and its slash, forwarded headers, timeouts, WebSocket and the real client IP 40 min
  2. The nginx cache — proxy_cache, stale content during an outage, stampede lock and logged-in users 40 min
  3. Apache 2.4 in production — MPM event, PHP-FPM, AllowOverride None and mod_rewrite in the virtual host 40 min
  4. TLS in production — HTTP/2, modern protocols, full chain, HSTS and the end of OCSP at Let's Encrypt 40 min
Section 3 — Security and performance3 lessons · 2 h
  1. Security headers and rate limiting — the add_header inheritance trap, limit_req and limit_conn 40 min
  2. Performance — workers, connections, file descriptors, LimitNOFILE, keepalive and compression 40 min
  3. Logs and diagnosis — log_format with response times, reading a 502 or a 504, finding the faulty server 40 min
Section 4 — Project1 lesson · 1 h 30 min
  1. Mock exam — put the MasterLinux site into production (front end, API, TLS, security, logs) 1 h 30 min

Requirements

  • The “Fundamentals” course or solid hands-on experience with the Linux command line
  • Having already set up a simple web server (Debian or Ubuntu web server lessons)
  • Basic knowledge of HTTP (methods, status codes, headers) and DNS

Who is this course for?

  • System administrators who run websites and APIs in production
  • DevOps and SRE engineers who operate reverse proxies
  • Students and junior engineers aiming for an operations job at an IT services company