Tag archive for: reverse proxy server

Building a reverse proxy server with Nginx, Certbot, Raspbian Stretch Lite and Raspberry Pi 3

The Nginx reverse proxy server runs well on Raspberry Pi 3 and you can use it behind a router to route HTTP traffic to upstream web applications.

A Raspberry Pi 3 reverse proxy server is a very useful appliance to help us host multiple websites from home.

Some examples of web applications that you may want to host at home includes:

• WordPress site on Raspberry Pi 3
• Raspberry Pi Zero W CCTV for security surveillance
• Fast Git Server based on Go Git Service and Raspberry Pi Zero W
• Codiad Web IDE on Raspberry Pi 3
• ProjectSend for sharing files with my friends
• Python 3 Flask MVP with Supervisor on Ubuntu Server 16.04
• Jenkins running on Raspberry Pi 3 and Raspbian Stretch Lite

This post discusses how you can build a reverse proxy server with nginx, Certbot, Raspbian Stretch Lite and Raspberry Pi 3 to proxy HTTP traffic directed at applications on your home network.

Understanding the difference between the root and alias directives in Nginx

Nginx is a web server that is good for serving as a reverse proxy server, load balancer or HTTP cache.

One of the most important task in configuring Nginx to proxy HTTP / HTTPS traffic is telling Nginx where to look for files that it needs for serving HTTP / HTTPS requests.

This posts discusses the root and alias directives that we can use in Nginx configuration files for mapping a url from a HTTP request to a file on the server file system.

How to host multiple websites from home

A website is a collection of related web pages, including multimedia content, that people can access anytime from anywhere of the Internet.

A website facilities the exchange of information between multiple parties. For instance, when you read the content of this page, I would have, hopefully, share the information of how to host multiple websites from home.

With the proliferation of single-board computers, it is now inexpensive to deploy computing devices to serve web applications from home. If you do not switch off your Internet modem at home, you may want the option of accessing some of these devices when you are away from home.

For example, here are some web applications / websites that you may host from home:

• WordPress on Raspberry Pi 3 with Raspbian Stretch Lite, nginx, MariaDB and PHP 7 as the LEMP stack
• Static website on Raspberry Pi 3
• Raspberry Pi 3 Go Git Service
• Taiga project management system on Raspberry Pi 3
• Raspberry Pi 3 CCTV camera
• Raspberry Pi Zero W CCTV camera
• Codiad Web IDE on my Raspberry Pi 3
• ProjectSend on your Raspberry Pi 3 for sharing files

This post documents some procedures that we can follow in order to host multiple websites from home.

How to enable secured remote management of D-Link DIR series router with Certbot, nginx, Raspbian Jessie Lite and Raspberry Pi 3

If you have a Internet subscription at home, chances are you will have a router that helps to enable computers, big and small, to access the Internet concurrently. To enable my computers to access the Internet concurrently, my Internet service provider gave me a D-Link DIR-868L router which had been serving me well over 2 years.

One way for me to access the router when I was not at home is to enable remote management by checking the Enable Remote Management in the ADMINISTRATION section of the TOOLS tab.

However, this feature activate remote management through HTTP through a designated port. Since HTTP communication is not encrypted, it is not safe for me to use this remote management feature from an unfamiliar network.

Since I had created a reverse proxy server with nginx, Raspbian Jessie Lite and Raspberry Pi 3 and installed Certbot on it, I reckoned that I can enable remote management of my D-Link DIR series router to be performed in a secured manner.

This post documents how to enable secured remote management of D-Link DIR series router with Certbot, nginx, Raspbian Jessie Lite and Raspberry Pi 3.

The reverse proxy server

With the proliferation of cloud computing and single board computers, the term – reverse proxy server, becomes a frequent mention in technical specifications that we may encounter as a developer or system implementation consultant.

Finding myself having to reiterate my understanding of the reverse proxy server, I reckoned that I should document what I know about the reverse proxy server so that I have a place where people can reference when they are lost with the topic of reverse proxy server.