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NGINX is one of the top choices for anyone looking to have a powerful and scalable web server. In addition to being used as a reverse proxy, load balancer and cache server, it is also capable of handling high traffic loads from the web.
With the proper configuration, it is possible to significantly increase the performance of your website and, thus, improve users’ experience. In this article, we’ll provide essential tips for optimizing NGINX performance and ensuring that your website is always at its best.
What is NGINX and how does it work?
Before we discuss the best tips to increase NGINX performance, let’s understand what NGINX is and how it works.
NGINX is an open source web server, which was created in 2002 by Igor Sysoev, with the aim of resolve scalability issues faced by Apache. It was designed to be light, fast and efficient.
NGINX uses a process and thread architecture to handle web requests. When a request is received, a main process creates a child process to handle the request. Each child process can handle multiple requests concurrently using threads.
NGINX is known for its ability to handle a large number of requests the web simultaneously. It uses an asynchronous event model to handle requests, which means it can handle many requests without requiring a lot of system resources.
What are the advantages of NGINX?
There are many advantages to using NGINX as your web server. Some of the main advantages include:
- High scalability: NGINX is capable of handling a large number of web requests simultaneously, making it ideal for high traffic websites.
- low resource usage: NGINX is lightweight and efficient, which means it uses less system resources than other web servers like Apache.
- Flexible configuration: NGINX can be configured in many different ways, making it highly customizable and adaptable to your specific needs.
- HTTP/2 support: NGINX supports HTTP/2 protocol, which is faster and more efficient than HTTP/1.1.
- Security features: NGINX includes several security features such as DDoS attack protection and SQL injection protection.
What are the best tips for increasing NGINX performance?
Now that we understand what NGINX is and its advantages, let’s discuss the best tips for increase performance from NGINX.
1. Use HTTP/2
The HTTP/2 protocol is faster and more efficient than HTTP/1.1 as it allows web requests to be made simultaneously over a single connection. NGINX supports the HTTP/2 protocol and by using it you can significantly improve the performance of your website.
To enable HTTP/2 support, add the following code to your NGINX configuration file:
2. Adjust working connections
NGINX uses a process and thread model to handle web requests. You can adjust working connections to improve NGINX performance. The “worker_connections” parameter determines the maximum number of connections that a child process can handle concurrently.
If you have a website with high traffic, you can increase this number to improve performance. On the other hand, if you have a low-traffic site, you can lower the number to save resources.
To adjust working connections, add the following code to your NGINX configuration file:
3. Enable caching
NGINX can be used as a caching server, which can significantly improve the performance of your website. the cache stores static pages and files of your website, reducing page load time for users.
To enable caching in NGINX, add the following code to your NGINX configuration file:
- proxy_cache_path /var/cache/nginx levels=1:2 keys_zone=my_cache:10m inactive=60m;
- proxy_cache_key “$scheme$request_method$host$request_uri”;
- proxy_cache_valid 200 60m;
4. Disable access_logs
The access logs are records of all requests received by the server. They can be useful for debugging purposes, but they can affect your site’s performance, especially if you’re receiving a large number of requests. If you don’t need access logs, you can disable them to improve your site’s performance.
To disable access logs in NGINX, add the following code to your NGINX configuration file:
5. Enable GZIP compression
GZIP compression reduces file sizes that are sent to users, which can significantly improve page load times. NGINX supports GZIP compression and you can easily enable it.
To enable GZIP compression in NGINX, add the following code to your NGINX configuration file:
- gzip on;
- gzip_comp_level 6;
- gzip_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript text/xml application/xml application/xml+rss text/javascript;
6. Increase the file descriptors
The number of file descriptors NGINX can use is limited by the operating system. If you have a high traffic site, you may need to increase the number of file descriptors to improve NGINX performance.
To increase the number of file descriptors, add the following code to your NGINX configuration file:
- worker_rlimit_nofile 65535;
7. Limit the value of time
NGINX can be slow to process requests that take a long time to complete. You can limit the maximum time that NGINX is waiting for a response to improve the performance of your site. If a request exceeds this time, NGINX will return an error.
To limit the time value, add the following code to your NGINX configuration file:
- proxy_connect_timeout 5s;
- proxy_read_timeout 10s;
- proxy_send_timeout 10s;
How to maintain the good performance of NGINX?
To keep the good performance of NGINX, it is important to adopt some careful practices, such as:
- monitor resource utilizationsuch as CPU and memory, to ensure the server is sized correctly and avoid performance bottlenecks;
- perform tests of load to evaluate the performance of NGINX under different traffic conditions and identify possible points of improvement;
- correctly configure the cache and update it regularly to ensure the cached files are always up to date;
- perform regular backups NGINX configuration to avoid possible loss of configuration and to facilitate recovery in case of failures;
- stay up to date with NGINX security updates and fixes, to avoid vulnerabilities and ensure server security.
In conclusion, NGINX is an extremely powerful and scalable web server solution, but its performance can be affected by several factors. It’s important to adjust the NGINX settings according to your site’s needs, including the number of working connections, enabling caching, disabling access logs, enabling GZIP compression, increasing file descriptors, and limiting the time value.
Additionally, it’s important to regularly monitor NGINX performance and make adjustments as needed to ensure your site is running as efficiently as possible. With these precautions in mind, it is possible to maintain the good performance of NGINX and guarantee a quality user experience for your website visitors.
Want to ensure the best performance for your website? Get in touch with us and find out how ValueHost can help you optimize your NGINX server.
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