# NGINX

> NGINX is a fast web server, reverse proxy and load balancer used to serve sites and route traffic to applications.

- Source: https://www.itwonderlab.com/nginx/
- Published: 2026-09-18
- Updated: 2026-09-18
- Author: Javier Ruiz Jiménez (https://www.javierruizjimenez.com/)
- Site: IT Wonder Lab (https://www.itwonderlab.com/)

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**NGINX** serves static content, terminates TLS, proxies requests to backends and balances load. It is also available as a Kubernetes ingress controller and as a container image in [Docker](https://www.itwonderlab.com/docker/).

### Key concepts

- **Server block**: a virtual host.
- **Reverse proxy**: forwards requests to upstream servers.
- **Config as code**: deploy it with [Ansible](https://www.itwonderlab.com/ansible/).

### Learn it

See [Ansible roles best practices](https://www.itwonderlab.com/ansible-roles-best-practices/) and [Docker networking](https://www.itwonderlab.com/docker-networking/).

Run it as a web server, proxy and load balancer with [Install NGINX with Docker](https://www.itwonderlab.com/install-nginx-docker/).