EPEL stands for Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux. Because yum as a package manager does not include the latest version of nginx in its default repository, installing EPEL will make sure that nginx on CentOS stays up to date.
To install EPEL, open terminal and type in:
sudo yum install epel-release
Step Two—Install nginx
To install nginx, open terminal and type in:
sudo yum install nginx
After you answer yes to the prompt twice (the first time relates to importing the EPEL gpg-key), nginx will finish installing on your virtual private server.
Step Three—Start nginx
nginx does not start on its own. To get nginx running, type:
sudo /etc/init.d/nginx start
You can confirm that nginx has installed on your VPS by directing your browser to your IP address.
You can run the following command to reveal your server’s IP address.
ifconfig eth0 | grep inet | awk '{ print $2 }'
Configure nginx
Open up the nginx configuration.
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/example
The following configuration will set you up to use nginx as the front end server. It is very similar to the default set up, and the details are under the configuration.
server { listen 80; root /var/www/; index index.php index.html index.htm; server_name example.com; location / { try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php; } location ~ \.php$ { proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr; proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $remote_addr; proxy_set_header Host $host; proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080; } location ~ /\.ht { deny all; } }
The following changes were implemented in the configuration:
- The root was set to the correct web directory
- index.php was added on the index line
- try_files attempts to serve whatever page the visitor requests. If nginx is unable, then the file is passed to the proxy
- proxy_pass lets nginx the address of the proxied server
- Finally the «location ~ /\.ht {» location block denies access to .htaccess files, if Apache’s document root concurs with nginx’s one
This configuration sets up a system where all extensions with a php ending are rerouted to the apache backend which will run on port 8080.
Activate the virtual host.
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/example /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/example
Additionally, delete the default nginx server block.
sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default
The next step is to install and configure apache.
Install Apache
With nginx taken care of, it’s time to install our backend, apache.
sudo apt-get install apache2
Since nginx is still not turned on, Apache will start running on port 80.
Configure Apache
We need to configure apache to take over the backend, which as we told nginx, will be running on port 8080. Open up the apache ports file to start setting apache on the correct port:
sudo nano /etc/apache2/ports.conf
Find and change the following lines to have apache running on port 8080, accessible only from the localhost:
NameVirtualHost 127.0.0.1:8080 Listen 127.0.0.1:8080
Save and Exit.
Subsequently, open up a new virtual host file, copying the layout from the default apache file:
sudo cp /etc/apache2/sites-available/default /etc/apache2/sites-available/example
sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/example
The main issue that needs to be addressed here is that the virtual host needs to be, once again, running on port 8080 (instead of the default 80 given to nginx).
The line should look like this:
<VirtualHost 127.0.0.1:8080>
Make sure your Document Root is correct. Save and exit the file and activate that virtual host:
sudo a2ensite example
Before we start testing anything out, we need to equip apache with php. Go ahead and install it now:
sudo apt-get install php5
Restart both servers to make the changes effective:
sudo service apache2 restart
sudo service nginx restart
Finish Up
We have set up the VPS with nginx running on the front end of our site and apache processing php on the back end. Loading our domain will take us to our site’s default page.
We can check that information is being routed to apache is working by running a common php script.
Go ahead and create the php.info file:
sudo nano /var/www/info.php
Paste the following lines into that file:
<? phpinfo( ); ?>
Save and exit.
Visiting your domain/info.php should show you php info screen, and you’ll be able to see that this was handled by apache. (screenshot here)
Finally, you can see which ports are open and which application is on each one by typing in this command.
sudo netstat -plunt