About NGINX
NGINX is an open source web server and reverse proxy. It also works as a load balancer, content cache, TCP and UDP proxy, and mail proxy.
What it does
NGINX serves web pages and passes requests on to application servers, spreading load across them. It caches content to reduce repeat work, and it can proxy raw TCP, UDP and mail traffic. The project also publishes an ingress controller and a Gateway Fabric for Kubernetes, so the same engine can sit at the edge of a cluster.
Key features
- Web serving and reverse proxy
- Load balancing across backend servers
- Content caching
- TCP, UDP and mail proxying
- Ingress controller for Kubernetes
Who it's for
Web developers, system administrators and DevOps teams that need a fast and configurable front end for their applications.
Pricing and good to know
NGINX is open source under the 2-clause BSD licence. The project site notes that enterprise distributions, commercial support and training are available from F5. You can install it on your own servers or run it in containers.
Highlights
- Serve web pages and act as a reverse proxy
- Spread requests across backend servers
- Cache content to reduce repeat work
- Proxy TCP, UDP and mail traffic
- Route Kubernetes traffic with an ingress controller
