Project

NGINX. From the ground up.

server setup image
server setup overlay

Overview

This project involved configuring a DigitalOcean shared server with Nginx on Ubuntu to host my static portfolio website and multiple web applications on subdomains. I manually set up SSL for secure connections, configured DNS, and deployed applications using Docker containers for isolated environments.

Tech Stack

  • Hosting: DigitalOcean (Shared Virtual Server)
  • Security: SSL, Firewall, HTTPS
  • Deployment: Docker, SFTP
  • Configuration: DNS, LetsEncrypt, SSH, Nginx

Technical Details

Architecture & DNS

Server Architecture Diagram
Security Layer
  • Fail2Ban intrusion prevention
  • UFW firewall rules
  • IP-based access control
  • Brute-force protection
  • Custom security policies
Nginx Server
  • Load balancing configuration
  • Request caching system
  • Reverse proxy setup
  • SSL termination point
  • Virtual hosts management
Portfolio Website
  • Static content serving
  • Server-side caching
  • Custom domain configuration
  • Performance optimization
Bookfinder Application
  • Flask/Gunicorn application
  • MySQL database integration
  • Docker container isolation
  • Azure Vision API integration
  • Custom network configuration
Recipe Application
  • Flask/Gunicorn setup
  • PostgreSQL database
  • Containerized deployment
  • Spoonacular API integration
  • Volume persistence
External APIs
  • Azure Vision - Image Recognition
  • Spoonacular - Recipe Database
  • Secure API key management
  • Rate limiting implementation
Cloud Infrastructure
  • DigitalOcean Droplet
  • Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
  • 2GB RAM / 1vCPU / 25GB SSD
  • NYC3 Data Center

Domain Name System

DNS Setup

DNS Details

Droplet Dashboard

Dashboard

Droplet Dashboard
This section details the Docker Infrastructure related the "Server Setup" Project only.

Technical Details

Docker Infrastructure

Server Architecture Diagram
Network Segregation
  • Network access restrictions
  • Backend network for DB-only access
  • Port exposure control (5002:5002)
  • DB port isolation from Internet (5432)
Container Resource Management
  • Memory limit: 384m per service
  • Memory reservation: 192m guaranteed
  • CPU quota: 0.3 cores allocated
  • Resource scaling capabilities
  • Performance optimization
Docker Named Volume
  • postgres_data volume persistence
  • Database state preservation
  • Volume mount path configuration
  • Data backup capability

Docker Compose

docker-compose.yaml

Docker Compose Configuration

Network Segregation

Resource Management

Persistent Volumes

Screenshots

Details

Security Details

SSL & LetsEncrypt

HTTP Observatory

MDN Report

Headers

Security Headers

Firewall

UFW & fail2ban

Key Benefits

Nginx as Reverse Proxy

Nginx reverse proxy acts as an intermediary server that forwards client requests to appropriate backend servers. It handles incoming requests and distributes them to backend applications while providing an additional layer of abstraction and security.

Key Benefits

  • Hides backend server architecture
  • Provides SSL termination
  • Enables caching and compression
  • Enhances security through IP masking
  • Simplifies backend maintenance
Reverse Proxy Configuration

Nginx. Key Benefits

Load Balancer

Nginx load balancer distributes incoming network traffic across multiple backend servers, ensuring no single server bears too much load. It monitors servers' health and automatically removes failed ones from the pool.

Load Balancer Configuration

Features

  • High availability and reliability
  • Scalable architecture
  • Automatic health checks
  • Flexible distribution algorithms
  • Session persistence options

Technical Details

Server Blocks

Server Blocks (or Virtual Hosts) allow hosting multiple domains on a single Nginx server. Each server block can have its own configuration, enabling different settings for different domains.

Main Purpose

  • Host multiple domains on one server
  • Domain-specific configurations
  • Separate logging per domain
  • Individual SSL certificates
  • Resource isolation
Server Blocks Configuration

Screenshots

Details