Lucy Alfred Joshua

Posted on Jan 30

Setting Up NGINX on Ubuntu Server: My DevOps Stage Zero Task Experience

#devops #nginx #hng

Introduction

Deploying a web server is one of the foundational skills for any DevOps engineer. As part of the HNG DevOps Internship (Stage 0), I was tasked with setting up and configuring NGINX on a fresh Ubuntu server. This hands-on project allowed me to explore key aspects of server management, web server configuration, and troubleshooting.

The Task Overview

Install and configure NGINX on a fresh Ubuntu server.
Serve a custom HTML page with the message: “Welcome to DevOps Stage 0 - [Your Name]/[SlackName]”.
Document the process in a blog post, reflecting on challenges, solutions, and personal growth.

My Approach to Completing the Task

Step 1: Setting Up the Ubuntu Server on DigitalOcean
I started by creating a fresh Ubuntu server on DigitalOcean. Here’s how I did it:

1. Sign in to DigitalOcean:

If you don’t have an account, you can create one at DigitalOcean.

2. Create a New Droplet:

Go to the Create section and select Droplets.

Choose Ubuntu 20.04 (or any preferred version).
Select the smallest plan (it’s sufficient for this task).
Add your SSH key for secure access (or use a password). You can generate an ssh key-pair on your local machine wih: ssh-keyen. The directories where your public and private keys are saved will be displayed, cat into your public key and copy.

Choose a data center region close to your location for faster access.
Click Create Droplet.

3. Access the Droplet:

Once the droplet was created, I connected to it via SSH on my local machine:

ssh root@your_droplet_ip

Step 2: Installing NGINX
Next, I installed NGINX using Ubuntu’s package manager, apt. Here’s how I did it:

1. Update the Server:

Before installing NGINX, I updated the server to ensure all packages were up to date:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

2. Install NGINX:

I installed NGINX with the following command:

sudo apt install nginx -y

3. Start and Enable NGINX:

After installation, I started the NGINX service and enabled it to run on boot:

sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

4. Verify NGINX Installation:

To confirm that NGINX was running, I opened my browser and visited http://<your_droplet_ip>. The default NGINX welcome page appeared, indicating a successful installation.

Step 3: Configuring the Custom HTML Page
The task required serving a custom HTML page as the default page. Here’s how I configured it:

1. Navigate to the Web Directory:

I moved to the default directory for web content:

cd /var/www/html

2.Create the Custom HTML File: I opened the index.html file with a text editor (I used nano):

sudo nano /var/www/html/index.html

3. Add the Custom Message:

I added the following HTML code to the file:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>Welcome</title>
    <style>
        body {
            font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
            background-color: #2C3E50;
            text-align: center;
            padding: 50px;
        }

        h1 {
            color: #4CAF50;
            font-size: 2.5em;
        }

        h3 {
            color: white;
            font-size: 1.5em;
        }

        p {
            color: #333;
            font-size: 1.2em;
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Welcome to DevOps Stage 0</h1>
    <p><h3>[Your Name]/[SlackName]</h3></p>
</body>
</html>

I replaced [Your Name] and [SlackName] with my actual name and Slack username.

4. Save and Exit:

I saved the file and exited the editor (CTRL+X, then Y, then Enter).

5. Restart NGINX:

To apply the changes, I restarted NGINX:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

6. Access the Custom Page:

I revisited http://<your_droplet_ip> in my browser, and the custom HTML page was displayed with the correct message.

Challenges I Faced

1. Permission Issues
When I first tried to edit the /var/www/html/index.html file, I ran into permission issues. I resolved this by using sudo to gain the necessary privileges: sudo nano /var/www/html/index.html

2. Task Requirements
To meet the task requirements, I added the index.html file located at /var/www/html/index.html.

References

As part of this task, I referenced the following resources to deepen my understanding of DevOps roles:

DevOps Engineers

Cloud Engineers

These links provided insights into the responsibilities, skills, and career paths for DevOps professionals.

Final Thoughts

Completing this task provided a good foundation in web server setup and configuration, key skills for any DevOps engineer. More importantly, it highlighted the power of hands-on experience in learning.

For anyone starting in DevOps, I highly recommend working on similar projects. The process of troubleshooting and fixing issues will help you develop confidence and critical thinking skills.

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