NGINX
Web server, reverse proxy and load balancer. NGINX is an open-source web server that is also widely used as a reverse proxy, load balancer and cache. It terminates TLS, routes requests to backend services, serves static files and applies rate limits. NGINX Plus is the commercial edition from F5, and NGINX-based ingress controllers route traffic into Kubernetes.
When it is the right choice
- You need a fast reverse proxy in front of application servers
- You want TLS termination, caching and rate limiting close to your services
- You serve static sites or files at high volume
- On managed platforms a cloud load balancer or API gateway may remove the need for it
How we use it
- Write NGINX configuration as templates managed by Ansible or Helm
- Automate TLS certificates with Let's Encrypt or cert-manager
- Export request and error metrics and logs into Prometheus and Grafana
- Test configuration in CI and reload safely without dropping connections
Linux
Kubernetes
Cloudflare
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Which ingress controller should we use on Kubernetes?
There are several NGINX-based controllers and alternatives. Check the current maintenance status of each, since the Kubernetes community ingress-nginx project announced its retirement; the Gateway API is the direction for new setups.
Do we need NGINX Plus?
Most teams do not. The open-source edition covers common needs; Plus adds features such as active health checks and a dashboard with commercial support.
Running NGINX, or deciding whether to? Tell us what you have; the first consultation is free.
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