NGINX Introduction

How does NGINX work?

Before we discuss the working of NGINX, let us take a look at how a web server works. When we request to access a webpage in our browser, the browser communicates with the server. Then the server fetches the requested files for the site and sends them to the browser. However, this process involves a single-thread approach. Traditionally, web servers like Apache create a single thread for every request meaning they have multi-threading facilities as a new thread is created to handle an individual request. But Nginx does not function that way as it performs with an asynchronous, event-driven architecture. 
Nginx uses a Master-Slave architecture. In a master-slave architecture, we have a master responsible for routing a request to any of the workers under it by distributing the load throughout the server. Then the Proxy cache is looked for a quick response. In case of failure, the webpage is loaded directly from memory.
Simply put, NGINX divides its job into the worker process and worker connections. The worker connections are required to manage the requests made and the responses obtained by users over the internet. These requests are passed to the parent process at this exact time, called the worker process.
Consider the diagram below to understand the flow of Master-Slave Architecture. 

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Features provided by NGINX

• NGINX provides HTTP server abilities.
• NGINX is developed to provide more stability than Apache and maximum performance.
• NGINX behaves as a proxy server for email.
• NGINX uses an event-driven approach and a single-threaded architecture to provide more performance even on a low-end computer.
• NGINX provides more scalability.
• NGINX dramatically reduces wait time for a client.
• NGINX-based websites can be upgraded without any downtime.
• NGINX supports reverse proxy with caching
• NGINX supports IPV6 and Load Balancing
   

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FAQs

1. What is NGINX Web Server?
   NGINX is an open-source web serving, media streaming, and reverse proxying software that started as a web server for maximum stability and performance
    
2. Why is NGINX so popular?
   NGINX is a lightweight web server software that can handle thousands of requests even with a low-end computer. Its single-threaded high-performance functionality made it famous.
    
3. Can NGINX process dynamic content within the server?
   No, Currently, NGINX cannot process dynamic content within the server.
    
4. Why is NGINX faster than Apache?
   Apache consumes more memory as compared to NGINX. Also, as Apache uses multiple threads, they further decrease its processing speed.
    
5. Who created NGINX?
   A Russian systems administrator named Igor Sysoev developed NGINX in the year 2004.

Key Takeaways

In this article, we learned about NGINX Web Server and its advantages over other web servers. We also discussed the architecture of NGINX with the help of a diagram. However, this isn't enough, as there is always much more to explore and learn about this vast field of Web Development. To know more about NGINXand its intricacies, check out the articles on NGINX or enroll in our highly curated Web Development course.   

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• Apache Server