NGINX in Docker Containers Service on Linux Server: An Overview

NGINX Docker Containers Service on Linux Server: An Overview

In this article, we will discuss how to deploy NGINX on a Linux server using Docker Compose, focusing on the site with the global topic of containers and microservices. The NGINX web server is a popular choice for containerized applications due to its speed, low memory footprint, and ease of configuration. By the end of this article, you will have a solid understanding of how to create and deploy a Docker Compose project that includes an NGINX service with an exposed port.

Prerequisites

To follow along with this article, you will need the following:

• A Linux server with Docker and Docker Compose installed.
• Basic knowledge of Docker and Docker Compose.

Creating a Docker Compose Project

Docker Compose is a tool for defining and running multi-container Docker applications. With a YAML file, you can configure your application's services, networks, and volumes. This makes it easy to spin up a complete environment with just one command.

To create a new Docker Compose project, you need to make a directory for your project and initialize it with a docker-compose.yml file.

$ mkdir poc-do
$ cd poc-do
$ touch docker-compose.yml

Defining the NGINX Service

Now, you can define your NGINX service in the docker-compose.yml file. The following example shows how to define the NGINX service:

version: '3'
services:
  nginx:
    image: nginx:latest
    container_name: poc-nginx
    expose:
      - "12345"
    volumes:
      - ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf
    ports:
      - "12345:12345"

Here's what each configuration option does:

• version: specifies the Docker Compose file format version
• services: defines a list of services for the project
• nginx: the name of the NGINX service
• image: specifies the NGINX image to use
• container_name: the name of the NGINX container
• expose: exposes the specified port within the container
• volumes: mounts the nginx.conf file from your host to the container
• ports: maps the exposed port from the container to your host

Creating the NGINX Configuration File

The nginx.conf file defines the NGINX server configuration. The following example shows a basic NGINX configuration that serves the content of the public directory:

worker\_processes 1;
events { worker\_connections 1024; }

http {
  server {
    listen 12345;
    server\_name localhost;
    root /public;
    index index.html;
  }
}

Running the Docker Compose Project

Now you can start your Docker Compose project with the following command:

$ docker-compose up -d

Verifying the NGINX Service

You can verify that your NGINX service is running and accessible by visiting http://<server\_ip>:12345 in your web browser.

Stopping the Docker Compose Project

To stop your Docker Compose project, use the following command:

$ docker-compose down

• In this article, you learned how to deploy NGINX on a Linux server using Docker Compose for a site focused on containers and microservices.
• You created a Docker Compose project that defines the NGINX service and its configuration options.
• You learned how to start, verify, and stop your Docker Compose project.

References

• Docker Compose
• NGINX
• Docker run reference