Web Servers

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Category: Web Servers

In Nginx, rewrite rules are used to modify or redirect URLs, allowing you to control how incoming requests are processed and handled.

nginx re-write rules 

 

 

Location Block:

Rewrite rules are typically added within a specific location block in the Nginx configuration file (nginx.conf) or in a separate configuration file in the /etc/nginx/conf.d/ directory. The location block determines the context in which the rewrite rule will be applied.

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;

    location / {
        # Rewrite rule goes here
    }
}

In this example, the rewrite rule will be applied to all requests under the / location.

 


Basic Rewrite Rule Syntax:

The basic syntax for a rewrite rule in Nginx is as follows:

rewrite regex replacement [flag];

regex: A regular expression that matches the part of the URL you want to rewrite.
replacement: The replacement string that will replace the matched part of the URL.
flag (optional): Specifies additional rewrite flags for controlling the rewrite behavior.

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Category: Web Servers

To send requests based on geolocation to different pages in Nginx, you can use the Nginx GeoIP module along with conditional statements in your Nginx configuration. Follow this recipe to get this done:

 

Install the GeoIP module

  • - Check if the GeoIP module is already installed by running the command nginx -V and looking for --with-http_geoip_module. If it's not present, you need to recompile Nginx with the GeoIP module.
  • - Download the GeoIP library from MaxMind or install it via your package manager (e.g., apt-get, yum, or brew). Notice: MaxMind Geo DB is not free.
  • - Install the GeoIP library using the appropriate commands for your operating system.

 

Configure the GeoIP database

  • - Obtain a GeoIP database from MaxMind (e.g., GeoLite2).
  • - Extract the database file (e.g., GeoLite2-Country.mmdb) and place it in a suitable location on your server.

 

Configure Nginx

  • - Open your Nginx configuration file (typically located at /etc/nginx/nginx.conf or /etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf).
  • - Add the following lines inside the http block to load the GeoIP module and define the path to the GeoIP database
http {
    # ...

    geoip2 /path/to/GeoLite2-Country.mmdb {
        auto_reload 60m;
        $geoip2_metadata_country_build metadata build_epoch;
    }

    # ...
}

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Category: Web Servers

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and HTTP/2 are both protocols used for transferring data over the internet. However, there are several key differences between the two versions.

 

Key differences.

Binary Protocol vs. Text Protocol

HTTP/1.1, the previous version, used a text-based protocol, meaning that messages exchanged between the client and server were primarily in plain text format. On the other hand, HTTP/2 is a binary protocol, which means that the messages are encoded in binary format for more efficient transmission.


Multiplexing and Concurrency

One of the significant improvements in HTTP/2 is the introduction of multiplexing. In HTTP/1.1, only one request can be sent at a time on a single TCP connection. With HTTP/2, multiple requests and responses can be sent simultaneously over the same connection, which allows for better utilization of network resources and faster page loading times.

Header Compression

HTTP/2 incorporates a new feature called header compression. In HTTP/1.1, HTTP headers are sent with each request and response, which can consume a significant amount of bandwidth. HTTP/2 uses a technique called header compression, where header fields are efficiently encoded and transmitted in a compressed format. This helps reduce overhead and improves performance.

Server Push

Another notable feature introduced in HTTP/2 is server push. In HTTP/1.1, the client has to explicitly request each resource required to render a web page. With server push, the server can proactively send additional resources to the client before they are requested, based on the server's understanding of the client's needs. This can significantly improve page load times by eliminating the round trips required to request each resource individually.

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Category: Web Servers

So far Google is encouraging all web sites to be served over HTTPS, and if you also use HTTP2 protocol, you will increase your site's security and at the same time fast page loading which will translate in better page ranking. If you are using Nginx web server, which i strongly recommend, just follow these simple steps to get up and running in HTTP2.

 

Install Nginx

Ensure that Nginx is installed on your server. The process for installing Nginx may vary depending on your operating system. Here's an example command for installing Nginx on Ubuntu

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nginx

 

Configure SSL

HTTP/2 requires the use of SSL/TLS encryption. So, you need to configure SSL for your Nginx server. Obtain an SSL certificate from a trusted certificate authority (CA) or use a self-signed certificate for testing purposes. You will need the certificate file and private key.

Create a new Nginx server block or modify the existing one to include the SSL configuration. Open the Nginx configuration file (nginx.conf or a file in the /etc/nginx/conf.d/ directory) and add or modify the following lines:

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name your_domain.com;

    ssl_certificate /path/to/your_certificate.crt;
    ssl_certificate_key /path/to/your_private_key.key;

    # Other SSL configuration options

    # Other server configuration directives
}

Ensure that you replace your_domain.com, /path/to/your_certificate.crt, and /path/to/your_private_key.key with the appropriate values for your setup.

 

Enable HTTP/2

To enable HTTP/2, you need to add the http2 parameter to the listen directive in the Nginx server block. As shown in the previous step, the line listen 443 ssl http2; specifies that the server should listen on port 443 using SSL and enable HTTP/2.

 

 

Configure Additional Nginx Settings: You can further customize your Nginx configuration to optimize it for HTTP/2. Some recommended settings include: