Nginx Reverse Proxy Lab

This project demonstrates a simple reverse proxy and load balancing setup using Nginx and Docker.

The reverse proxy routes incoming client requests to multiple backend services running in containers. This setup represents a common architecture used in modern DevOps environments.

Architecture

Client requests are received by the Nginx reverse proxy, which forwards traffic to backend services using load balancing.

Client
   ↓
Nginx Reverse Proxy
   ↓
App1      App2

Technologies Used

• Nginx

• Docker

• Docker Compose

• Linux

Nginx Configuration

The Nginx reverse proxy forwards requests to backend containers using an upstream load balancing configuration.

Example configuration:

events {}

http {

    upstream backend {
        server app1:80;
        server app2:80;
    }

    server {
        listen 80;

        location / {
            proxy_pass http://backend;
        }
    }

}

This configuration distributes incoming traffic between multiple backend services.

Docker Compose Setup

Backend services and the reverse proxy are deployed using Docker Compose.

Example:

version: "3"

services:

  nginx:
    image: nginx:latest
    container_name: reverse-proxy
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    volumes:
      - ./nginx/nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf
    depends_on:
      - app1
      - app2

  app1:
    image: nginx

  app2:
    image: nginx

This creates a reverse proxy container and two backend service containers.

Example Output

Example Docker containers running in the environment.

Reverse Proxy Routing

Example browser request routed through the Nginx reverse proxy.

Repository Structure

nginx-reverse-proxy-lab
│
├── docker-compose.yml
│
├── nginx
│   └── nginx.conf
│
├── architecture
│   └── reverse-proxy-architecture.png
│
├── screenshots
│   ├── docker-containers.png
│   └── nginx-routing.png
│
└── README.md

Purpose

This project demonstrates how to implement a reverse proxy and load balancing architecture using containerized services.

It highlights key DevOps concepts such as:

• reverse proxy configuration

• containerized infrastructure

• service routing

• load balancing with Nginx

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.