Web servers are fundamental to DevOps, forming the backbone of web applications by handling requests and serving content efficiently. As part of the HNG DevOps Stage 0 task, I installed and configured NGINX on a fresh Ubuntu server to serve a custom HTML page. This task helped me solidify my understanding of web server configurations, system administration, and automation. In this blog post, I will walk through the step-by-step process of setting up NGINX, the challenges I faced, and the key learnings from this experience.
Task Requirements
The objective of this task was to:
- Install the NGINX web server on a fresh Ubuntu instance.
- Configure it to serve a custom HTML page at
/var/www/html/index.htmlwith the message:
"Welcome to DevOps Stage 0 - [Your Name]/[SlackName]"
(Replacing [Your Name] with my real name and [SlackName] with my Slack username.)
- Include links to DevOps Engineers and Cloud Engineers resources.
Step-by-Step Implementation
1. Installing NGINX
Before installing NGINX, I updated the package repository to ensure I was fetching the latest software versions:
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
Then, I installed NGINX using the following command:
sudo apt install nginx -y
Once the installation was complete, I started and enabled the NGINX service:
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx
To verify that NGINX was running successfully, I checked its status:
systemctl status nginx
A green "active" status confirmed that NGINX was operational.
2. Configuring NGINX to Serve a Custom HTML Page
NGINX serves files from /var/www/html/ by default. I edited the index.html file in that directory to display my custom message.
sudo nano /var/www/html/index.html
I replaced the existing content with the following HTML:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>DevOps Stage 0</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Welcome to DevOps Stage 0 - [Your Name]/[SlackName]</h1>
<p>Explore more about DevOps roles:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://hng.tech/hire/devops-engineers" target="_blank">DevOps Engineers</a></li>
<li><a href="https://hng.tech/hire/cloud-engineers" target="_blank">Cloud Engineers</a></li>
</ul>
</body>
</html>
After saving and exiting (CTRL + X, then Y, and pressing Enter), I restarted NGINX to apply the changes:
sudo systemctl restart nginx
3. Testing the Configuration
To verify that my setup was successful, I accessed the server's IP address in a web browser:
http://your-server-ip
Alternatively, I used curl to fetch the web page:
curl http://localhost
Seeing my custom message confirmed that the NGINX setup was complete.
Challenges Faced and Solutions
1. NGINX Not Starting
Issue: When I initially tried to start NGINX, I encountered an error stating that the service failed to start.
Solution: Checking the logs with sudo journalctl -u nginx --no-pager revealed that another service was using port 80. I identified the conflicting service using:
sudo netstat -tulnp | grep :80
Stopping the conflicting service and restarting NGINX resolved the issue:
sudo systemctl stop apache2
sudo systemctl disable apache2
sudo systemctl restart nginx
2. Changes Not Reflecting in Browser
Issue: After modifying index.html, my browser still displayed the old page.
Solution: I cleared the browser cache and restarted NGINX. I also verified file permissions to ensure NGINX had read access:
sudo chmod 644 /var/www/html/index.html
sudo systemctl restart nginx
Key Learnings from This Task
- Understanding Web Server Deployment: Setting up and configuring NGINX deepened my understanding of web server management and static content delivery.
- Troubleshooting System Services: Debugging NGINX startup issues provided hands-on experience with Linux system services and networking.
- Automation Possibilities: This manual process highlighted the potential for automating server setup with tools like Ansible or Terraform.
How This Task Supports My Career Goals
Completing this task is a stepping stone in my DevOps journey. The ability to configure web servers is essential for DevOps Engineers, who manage infrastructure and CI/CD pipelines. Understanding how NGINX serves as a reverse proxy and load balancer is also valuable for roles like Site Reliability Engineers and Cloud Engineers.
If you're looking to hire professionals in these fields, check out:
This hands-on experience has reinforced my ability to work with production-grade web servers, a critical skill in modern DevOps practices.
Conclusion
Setting up NGINX from scratch on an Ubuntu server was an insightful exercise in configuring and troubleshooting a web server. From installation to serving a custom web page, this task helped me build a solid foundation in Linux system administration and web server management. As I continue my DevOps learning path, I look forward to automating such deployments using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools like Terraform and Ansible.
This challenge was a rewarding experience, and I am excited about more DevOps tasks ahead in the HNG program!
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