# Newbie questions about nginx (moving from apache)

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-questions-about-nginx-moving-from-apache/207515>\
**Category:** NGINX\
**Created:** [May 27, 2011, 10:15am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-questions-about-nginx-moving-from-apache/207515 "2011-05-27T10:15:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 19\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![dubstep](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@dubstep](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/dubstep)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 10:15am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-questions-about-nginx-moving-from-apache/207515/1 "2011-05-27T10:15:10Z")

</div>

Hi

sorry for english.

i am on centos 64 bit server with cpanel and whm.

i have apache 2.2.18 and there is heavy duty use of the following:

1. mod rewrite
2. mod geoip
3. mod security (with rules available in 2.6.0 for google safe browsing  
checks etc)
4. mod evasive
5. php5 functionality with memcached + eaccelerator

for #1, i see from threads on this phorum that some rewriting  
functionality is possible. i also see that in 1.0.3 the #2 of geoip is  
possible.

but i am not sure about 3, 4 and 5. nginx does not support DDOS  
protection right? also, will all the php5 modules work with pecl such as  
memcached etc?

in trying to set up nginx, i have problem getting php to work. mod fcgi  
– is there simple instruction about how to do, and how is the  
performance when compared to apache+eaccelerator which opcode caches?

because of this functionality, i don’t want to move entire to nginx.

so i am trying this: nginx run on localhost on port 81. apache is main  
front server on port 80. all static content from images folder need to  
pass to nginx. i am trying this code in apache:

ProxyRequests Off  
ProxyPreserveHost On  
ProxyPass /mysite/images [http://0.0.0.0:81/](http://0.0.0.0:81/)  
ProxyPassReverse / [http://0.0.0.0:81/](http://0.0.0.0:81/)

But this is not working.

Nginx root folder is “/mysite/images”. And when I type in browser  
[http://MYDOMAIN.COM:81](http://MYDOMAIN.COM:81) then I can see the nginx working fine. the images  
are there.

any idea about how i can make this setup work?

or ideally, over time i want to move entirely to nginx. so would  
appreciate some experienced thought or guidance.

thanks

Posted at Nginx Forum:

> **[Newbie questions about nginx (moving from apache)](https://forum.nginx.org/read.php?2,201449,201449#msg-201449)**
>
> Hi sorry for english. i am on centos 64 bit server with cpanel and whm. i have apache 2.2.18 and there is heavy duty use of the following: 1. mod rewrite 2. mod geoip 3. mod security (with rules available in 2.6.0 for goo

---

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**Author:** ![pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pk899)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 10:25am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-questions-about-nginx-moving-from-apache/207515/2 "2011-05-27T10:25:04Z")

</div>

On Fri, May 27, 2011 at 04:14:49AM -0400, pk899 wrote:

> 1. mod security (with rules available in 2.6.0 for google safe browsing  
> memcached etc?
> 
> [http://MYDOMAIN.COM:81](http://MYDOMAIN.COM:81) then I can see the nginx working fine. the images  
> are there.
> 
> any idea about how i can make this setup work?
> 
> or ideally, over time i want to move entirely to nginx. so would  
> appreciate some experienced thought or guidance.

You should use 127.0.0.1:81 instead of 0.0.0.0:81.  
However, it’s better to set nginx before Apache and all except  
“/mysite/images” to the Apache.  
nginx has not mod\_security functionality.  
There is some functionality similar to mod\_evasive in limit\_req.

–  
Igor S.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pk899)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 10:28am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-questions-about-nginx-moving-from-apache/207515/3 "2011-05-27T10:28:48Z")

</div>

thanks igor. wow, so fast reply.

how can i setup nginx “before apache”? will i have to change apache  
port?

and what will the syntax look like. is there any simple guide? i have a  
high traffic site so dont want to break the functionality.

thanks!

Posted at Nginx Forum:

> **[Re: Newbie questions about nginx (moving from apache)](https://forum.nginx.org/read.php?2,201449,201454#msg-201454)**
>
> Hi sorry for english. i am on centos 64 bit server with cpanel and whm. i have apache 2.2.18 and there is heavy duty use of the following: 1. mod rewrite 2. mod geoip 3. mod security (with rules available in 2.6.0 for goo

---

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**Author:** ![pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pk899)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 10:34am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-questions-about-nginx-moving-from-apache/207515/4 "2011-05-27T10:34:59Z")

</div>

On Fri, May 27, 2011 at 04:28:10AM -0400, pk899 wrote:

> thanks igor. wow, so fast reply.
> 
> how can i setup nginx “before apache”? will i have to change apache  
> port?
> 
> and what will the syntax look like. is there any simple guide? i have a  
> high traffic site so dont want to break the functionality.

You should test nginx setup on 81 port passing request to Apache on 80:

server {  
listen 81;  
server\_name [your.domain.com](http://your.domain.com);

```
root /path/to/static;

location / {
    proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1;
    proxy_set_header Host $host;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
}

location /mysite/images/ {
}

```

}

You may need to add mod\_rpaf to Apache to process client IPs passed  
by nginx in X-Forwarded-For.

–  
Igor S.

---

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**Author:** ![pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pk899)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-questions-about-nginx-moving-from-apache/207515/5 "2011-05-27T18:43:51Z")

</div>

On Fri, May 27, 2011 at 12:19:47PM -0400, pk899 wrote:

> thanks for this. but before I try all this on a production server,  
> couple questions:
> 
> 1. if this works with NGINX on port 81, can this work in the future on  
> port 80? So will nginx and apache both be on port 80? I doubt it but  
> want to confirm.

Apache may listen on 127.0.0.1:80, while nginx may listen on \*:80.

> 1. secondly, do you have a production-ready sample of how to set up for  
> static serving? in apache for example, we set max-age, expires, gzip,  
> cache-control etc for static files and this is very handy. i read the  
> wiki manual for nginx and there’s a lot of options in nginx too (quite  
> impressive actually) but i would love to see a production recommended  
> sample of commands.

location /static/ {  
root …  
expires 30d;  
gzip on;  
gzip\_static on;  
}

–  
Igor S.

---

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**Author:** ![pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pk899)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-questions-about-nginx-moving-from-apache/207515/6 "2011-05-27T19:00:30Z")

</div>

thanks. i have reading about nginx a lot on the internet. and it seems  
to me that many features of mod\_security are available inside nginx.

i like this post:  
[http://eng.eelcowesemann.nl/linux-unix/nginx/nginx-blocking/](http://eng.eelcowesemann.nl/linux-unix/nginx/nginx-blocking/)

my questions.

1. how should i block remote\_addr based on IP in a certain external  
file?
2. to block xss or such type of injection attacks – any best practice  
rules?
3. can i block based on “request\_uri”? if some hosts are in it  
(parameter) then block it.
4. can i block based on RBL checks? from spamhaus etc.

thanks!

Posted at Nginx Forum:

> **[Re: Newbie questions about nginx (moving from apache)](https://forum.nginx.org/read.php?2,201449,201617#msg-201617)**
>
> Hi sorry for english. i am on centos 64 bit server with cpanel and whm. i have apache 2.2.18 and there is heavy duty use of the following: 1. mod rewrite 2. mod geoip 3. mod security (with rules available in 2.6.0 for goo

---

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**Author:** ![pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pk899)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-questions-about-nginx-moving-from-apache/207515/7 "2011-05-27T18:20:21Z")

</div>

thanks for this. but before I try all this on a production server,  
couple questions:

1. if this works with NGINX on port 81, can this work in the future on  
port 80? So will nginx and apache both be on port 80? I doubt it but  
want to confirm.

2. secondly, do you have a production-ready sample of how to set up for  
static serving? in apache for example, we set max-age, expires, gzip,  
cache-control etc for static files and this is very handy. i read the  
wiki manual for nginx and there’s a lot of options in nginx too (quite  
impressive actually) but i would love to see a production recommended  
sample of commands.

thanks!

Posted at Nginx Forum:

> **[Re: Newbie questions about nginx (moving from apache)](https://forum.nginx.org/read.php?2,201449,201595#msg-201595)**
>
> Hi sorry for english. i am on centos 64 bit server with cpanel and whm. i have apache 2.2.18 and there is heavy duty use of the following: 1. mod rewrite 2. mod geoip 3. mod security (with rules available in 2.6.0 for goo

---

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**Author:** ![pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pk899)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 5:55am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-questions-about-nginx-moving-from-apache/207515/8 "2011-05-28T05:55:39Z")

</div>

Some problems with your recommendation, Igor.

1. There is no directive like “gzip\_static”.

2. The proxy\_pass that you recommend above – this does a full 301  
redirect to Apache!

This is really not the solution I am after.

So, back to my first question, how do I pass the baton from Apache  
(which really needs to be my first front server because of all the  
features) only for the static files to nginx?

Thanks.

Posted at Nginx Forum:

> **[Re: Newbie questions about nginx (moving from apache)](https://forum.nginx.org/read.php?2,201449,201728#msg-201728)**
>
> Hi sorry for english. i am on centos 64 bit server with cpanel and whm. i have apache 2.2.18 and there is heavy duty use of the following: 1. mod rewrite 2. mod geoip 3. mod security (with rules available in 2.6.0 for goo

---

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**Author:** ![pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pk899)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-questions-about-nginx-moving-from-apache/207515/9 "2011-05-28T15:22:16Z")

</div>

On 27 May 2011 18:59, pk899 [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:

> thanks. i have reading about nginx a lot on the internet. and it seems  
> to me that many features of mod\_security are available inside nginx.
> 
> i like this post:  
> [http://eng.eelcowesemann.nl/linux-unix/nginx/nginx-blocking/](http://eng.eelcowesemann.nl/linux-unix/nginx/nginx-blocking/)
> 
> my questions.
> 
> 1. how should i block remote\_addr based on IP in a certain external  
> file?

It’s in your link: include /etc/nginx/block.conf;  
But it’s not really nginx’s job to secure your server from attackers.  
Use  
iptables or similar for that.

1. to block xss or such type of injection attacks – any best practice

> rules?

These are application-level problems (HTML, JS, SQL etc.) and are not  
specific to your server software.

> 1. can i block based on “request\_uri”? if some hosts are in it  
> (parameter) then block it.

[http://eng.eelcowesemann.nl/linux-unix/nginx/nginx-blocking/](http://eng.eelcowesemann.nl/linux-unix/nginx/nginx-blocking/)  
Use $request\_uri instead of $http\_referer

> 1. can i block based on RBL checks? from spamhaus etc.

Not that I know of, and if you are deploying nginx for speed then this  
is  
the last job you want to give it. Block proxies/spammers at the  
application  
level where posting actually happens (e.g. in postcommentform.php), not  
for  
every HTTP request you receive.

> 

thanks!

---

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**Author:** ![pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pk899)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-questions-about-nginx-moving-from-apache/207515/10 "2011-05-28T15:30:19Z")

</div>

On 28 May 2011 05:54, pk899 [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:

> Some problems with your recommendation, Igor.
> 
> 1. There is no directive like “gzip\_static”.

> **[GitHub - nginxinc/nginx-wiki: ARCHIVED -- Source for the now archived NGINX Wiki...](https://github.com/nginxinc/nginx-wiki)**
>
> ARCHIVED -- Source for the now archived NGINX Wiki section of https://www.nginx.com

> 1. The proxy\_pass that you recommend above – this does a full 301  
> redirect to Apache!

> This is really not the solution I am after.
> 
> So, back to my first question, how do I pass the baton from Apache  
> (which really needs to be my first front server because of all the  
> features) only for the static files to nginx?

Then you set up mod\_proxy on Apache instead. But with all due respect I  
think you’re after the wrong solution. You’re unlikely to gain any  
performance like that, because you’re still making Apache do all the  
work of  
talking to clients and holding keepalives. This is where nginx beats the  
pants of Apache.

Put nginx in front. Test it by starting it on port 81 as suggested  
previously. When you’re happy, switch the ports (nginx on 80, proxying  
to  
Apache on 127.0.0.1:81).

Thomas

---

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**Author:** ![pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pk899)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-questions-about-nginx-moving-from-apache/207515/11 "2011-05-28T15:55:38Z")

</div>

Thanks. But I am a bit confused, as the simple setup is not working from  
port 81 (for testing):

server {  
listen 81;  
server\_name [MYDOMAIN.com](http://MYDOMAIN.com) [www.MYDOMAIN.com](http://www.MYDOMAIN.com);

```
location ^~ /site/static {
  root /home/MYDOMAIN/www/static;
  index index.htm index.php;
  expires 30d;
  gzip on;
}

location / {
  proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:80/;
  proxy_redirect off;

  proxy_set_header Host $host;
  proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
}

```

}

Then I try in my browser this:  
[http://MYDOMAIN.com:81/test.gif](http://MYDOMAIN.com:81/test.gif)

On the server the “test.gif” file is at  
“/home/MYDOMAIN/www/static/test.gif”.

Questions:

(1) What am I missing? Should the test.gif file be somewhere else?  
Should I try this with some other URL instead of the one I mention  
above?

(2) Also, if this worked, and I accepted Nginx to be at the front and  
moved Apache to the background, isn’t it true that Apache would have to  
pass back all processed output to Nginx?

(3) Even with “proxy\_redirect off”, when I try [http://MYDOMAIN.com:81](http://MYDOMAIN.com:81),  
it actually does a hard 301 redirect to my Apache server.

What am I missing?

Posted at Nginx Forum:

> **[Re: Newbie questions about nginx (moving from apache)](https://forum.nginx.org/read.php?2,201449,201787#msg-201787)**
>
> Hi sorry for english. i am on centos 64 bit server with cpanel and whm. i have apache 2.2.18 and there is heavy duty use of the following: 1. mod rewrite 2. mod geoip 3. mod security (with rules available in 2.6.0 for goo

---

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**Author:** ![pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pk899)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-questions-about-nginx-moving-from-apache/207515/12 "2011-05-28T15:31:34Z")

</div>

Thanks. The RBL checking in Apache (via mod security) can happen in very  
specific manner. I could specify that they check only specific arguments  
(the very precise “input” field in the html) in a very specific page  
(“postcommentform.php”).

Similarly, sure, the application needs to be smartly coded to prevent  
against injections. But mod\_security enables blocking this at a much  
earlier phase in the web transaction. And it’s easy to control this a  
bit better at the hosting level.

Clearly, I am looking at nginx not only as a “speed option”, but as a  
replacement for Apache. Several blogs online say that they have moved to  
nginx. I am trying to see how. Apache is sadly bloated but thanks to  
mod\_security etc it’s a very, very practical modern solution.

Anyway, my setup above is not working either. Even just to use nginx as  
merely a static server.

Posted at Nginx Forum:

> **[Re: Newbie questions about nginx (moving from apache)](https://forum.nginx.org/read.php?2,201449,201779#msg-201779)**
>
> Hi sorry for english. i am on centos 64 bit server with cpanel and whm. i have apache 2.2.18 and there is heavy duty use of the following: 1. mod rewrite 2. mod geoip 3. mod security (with rules available in 2.6.0 for goo

---

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**Author:** ![pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pk899)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 4:06pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-questions-about-nginx-moving-from-apache/207515/13 "2011-05-28T16:06:10Z")

</div>

On 28 May 2011 15:55, pk899 [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:

> ```
> index index.htm index.php;
> 
> ```
> 
> }
> 
> }
> 
> server {  
> listen 81;  
> server\_name [MYDOMAIN.com](http://MYDOMAIN.com) [www.MYDOMAIN.com](http://www.MYDOMAIN.com) [http://www.mydomain.com/](http://www.mydomain.com/);

root /home/MYDOMAIN/www;

location / {  
proxy\_pass [http://127.0.0.1:80](http://127.0.0.1:80);  
proxy\_set\_header Host $host;  
proxy\_set\_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy\_add\_x\_forwarded\_for;  
}

location /static/ {  
index index.htm;  
expires 30d;  
gzip on;  
gzip\_static on;  
}

}

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pk899)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-questions-about-nginx-moving-from-apache/207515/14 "2011-05-28T15:57:30Z")

</div>

On 28 May 2011 15:31, pk899 [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:

> Thanks. The RBL checking in Apache (via mod security) can happen in very  
> specific manner. I could specify that they check only specific arguments  
> (the very precise “input” field in the html) in a very specific page  
> (“postcommentform.php”).

There is no module like this for nginx that I’m aware of but you can  
probably find application-level libraries to do it. The fewer  
conditionals  
at the HTTP server level the better.

> Similarly, sure, the application needs to be smartly coded to prevent  
> against injections. But mod\_security enables blocking this at a much  
> earlier phase in the web transaction. And it’s easy to control this a  
> bit better at the hosting level.
> 
> If it’s important then leave it on Apache with your web application. It  
> will still do what it does upstream of nginx.

> Clearly, I am looking at nginx not only as a “speed option”, but as a  
> replacement for Apache. Several blogs online say that they have moved to  
> nginx. I am trying to see how. Apache is sadly bloated but thanks to  
> mod\_security etc it’s a very, very practical modern solution.

IMO its bloat is not helped by being piled with high with modules. This  
is  
where nginx comes in, and being relatively free of modules was one of  
its  
selling points for me.

---

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**Author:** ![pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pk899)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-questions-about-nginx-moving-from-apache/207515/15 "2011-05-28T16:19:08Z")

</div>

Thanks.

So with this setup, this works:

[http://mydomain.com:81/static/test.gif](http://mydomain.com:81/static/test.gif)

But when I try this:

[http://mydomain.com:81/static/test.gif](http://mydomain.com:81/static/test.gif)

It physically redirects to [http://mydomain.com](http://mydomain.com).

How can I avoid this?

Posted at Nginx Forum:

> **[Re: Newbie questions about nginx (moving from apache)](https://forum.nginx.org/read.php?2,201449,201792#msg-201792)**
>
> Hi sorry for english. i am on centos 64 bit server with cpanel and whm. i have apache 2.2.18 and there is heavy duty use of the following: 1. mod rewrite 2. mod geoip 3. mod security (with rules available in 2.6.0 for goo

---

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**Author:** ![pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pk899)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-questions-about-nginx-moving-from-apache/207515/16 "2011-05-28T16:29:39Z")

</div>

## Thomas L. Wrote:

> > 1. how should i block remote\_addr based on IP in  
> > a certain external  
> > file?
> 
> It’s in your link: include /etc/nginx/block.conf;

Not correct. The “block.conf” as that guy mentions is only a collection  
of rules.

I am asking if I can have a file that is full of host names or IPs, say  
“blacklist.conf”. Then, I want to do something like this:

if ($request\_uri ~\* (“/blacklist.conf”) ) {  
return 403;  
}

if ($remote\_addr ~\* (“/blacklist.conf”) ) {  
return 403;  
}

This way I can keep easily adding or removing IPs/hosts from my  
blacklist file instead of editing the nginx.conf file every time.

Thanks.

Posted at Nginx Forum:  
[http://forum.nginx.org/read.php?2,201449,201796#msg-201796](http://forum.nginx.org/read.php?2,201449,201796#msg-201796)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pk899)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-questions-about-nginx-moving-from-apache/207515/17 "2011-05-28T16:21:36Z")

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Because this forum does not allow editing, here’s my edit:

Thanks.

So with this setup, this works:

[http://mydomain.com:81/static/test.gif](http://mydomain.com:81/static/test.gif)

But when I try this:

[http://mydomain.com:81/](http://mydomain.com:81/) (main site)

It **physically** redirects to [http://mydomain.com](http://mydomain.com).

How can I avoid this?

Posted at Nginx Forum:

> **[Re: Newbie questions about nginx (moving from apache)](https://forum.nginx.org/read.php?2,201449,201793#msg-201793)**
>
> Hi sorry for english. i am on centos 64 bit server with cpanel and whm. i have apache 2.2.18 and there is heavy duty use of the following: 1. mod rewrite 2. mod geoip 3. mod security (with rules available in 2.6.0 for goo

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pk899)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-questions-about-nginx-moving-from-apache/207515/18 "2011-05-28T16:33:21Z")

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Hello!

On Sat, May 28, 2011 at 09:55:10AM -0400, pk899 wrote:

> ```
> index index.htm index.php;
> }
> 
> ```
> 
> Questions:
> 
> (1) What am I missing? Should the test.gif file be somewhere else?  
> Should I try this with some other URL instead of the one I mention  
> above?

It looks like you don’t understand at least two basic things:

1. Location directive maps _URI_ namespace to configuration.  
That is, with your config /test.gif will be mapped to “location  
/”, i.e. will be proxy\_pass’ed to Apache. You want to request  
something like /site/static/test.gif to be actually served by  
nginx itself.

See here for more details:

> **[GitHub - nginxinc/nginx-wiki: ARCHIVED -- Source for the now archived NGINX Wiki...](https://github.com/nginxinc/nginx-wiki)**
>
> ARCHIVED -- Source for the now archived NGINX Wiki section of https://www.nginx.com

1. Root directive define _root_, and URI will be added to it to  
map request to filesystem. I.e. with URI /site/static/test.gif  
and root /home/MYDOMAIN/www/static you will end up with  
“/home/MYDOMAIN/www/static/site/static/test.gif” filename.

If you want “/site/static/test.gif” to be mapped to  
“/home/MYDOMAIN/www/static/test.gif” you have to use alias  
directive instead.

See here for more details:

> **[GitHub - nginxinc/nginx-wiki: ARCHIVED -- Source for the now archived NGINX Wiki...](https://github.com/nginxinc/nginx-wiki)**
>
> ARCHIVED -- Source for the now archived NGINX Wiki section of https://www.nginx.com

> **[GitHub - nginxinc/nginx-wiki: ARCHIVED -- Source for the now archived NGINX Wiki...](https://github.com/nginxinc/nginx-wiki)**
>
> ARCHIVED -- Source for the now archived NGINX Wiki section of https://www.nginx.com

> (2) Also, if this worked, and I accepted Nginx to be at the front and  
> moved Apache to the background, isn’t it true that Apache would have to  
> pass back all processed output to Nginx?

Yes. And this is a huge win in many cases: Apache processes won’t  
be bound by serving responses to slow clients.

> (3) Even with “proxy\_redirect off”, when I try [http://MYDOMAIN.com:81](http://MYDOMAIN.com:81),  
> it actually does a hard 301 redirect to my Apache server.

Directive proxy\_redirect is to fix redirects returned by backend  
server. By switching it off you merely said “don’t touch  
anything” to nginx, and this is what it does. I.e. redirect is  
returned by your Apache server (alternatively, it may be just your  
browser’s cache from previous testing - check logs).

Maxim D.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@pk899](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pk899)\
**Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 7:11am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-questions-about-nginx-moving-from-apache/207515/19 "2011-05-29T07:11:35Z")

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thanks igor and maxim. the proxy stuff is not working for me but i am so  
liking the nginx server that i will follow your advice to not care about  
mod security so much and just do application level checking in php.

my question: is there a simple guide to get php working on nginx when it  
is already installed and running with apache as mod\_php on the server?  
while testing nginx i dont want to break already working functionality.

there are online guides for “fastcgi” but they are all different and  
sometimes old syntax so they are confusing. is there a recommended  
official config file that will cover the best practice for a production  
server, including:

1. static files be served with “expires” or etags etc
2. php with all the modules installed on my server (memcache, etc)
3. secure php

i want to now just try nginx running on server:81 port and see if it can  
do _everything_ that apache does, if i move some of the functionality to  
my php application (such as checking RBLs etc).

thanks so much.

Posted at Nginx Forum:

> **[Re: Newbie questions about nginx (moving from apache)](https://forum.nginx.org/read.php?2,201449,201911#msg-201911)**
>
> Hi sorry for english. i am on centos 64 bit server with cpanel and whm. i have apache 2.2.18 and there is heavy duty use of the following: 1. mod rewrite 2. mod geoip 3. mod security (with rules available in 2.6.0 for goo