How to configure Nginx as WebSocket proxy

I will talk about how to configure Nginx as a WebSocket proxy to implement proxy and real-time two-way communication for WebSocket connections.

WebSocket is a protocol that supports real-time two-way communication, which is often used in real-time chat, notification push and other scenarios.

By configuring Nginx as a WebSocket proxy, WebSocket connections can be forwarded to the backend server and enable high-performance and reliable real-time communication.

Prerequisites

Before starting this tutorial, make sure you meet the following prerequisites:

• Nginx has been installed and configured.
• Understand the basic principles and usage of the WebSocket protocol.
• The backend server has implemented the WebSocket service.

step

Here are the steps to configure Nginx as WebSocket proxy:

Step 1: Modify the Nginx configuration file

Open Nginx configuration file, usually located in /etc/nginx/ or /usr/local/nginx/conf/.

Find the http section and add the following configuration in it:

http {
    server {
        listen 80;
        server_name your_domain.com;

        location /ws {
            proxy_pass http://backend_server;
            proxy_http_version 1.1;
            proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
            proxy_set_header Connection "Upgrade";
        }

        # More configurations...    }
}

In the above configuration, we use the location directive to define the URL path/ws used to handle WebSocket connections. Then, proxy the WebSocket connection to the backend server through the proxy_pass directive.

It is important to set the three instructions: proxy_http_version, proxy_set_header Upgrade, and proxy_set_header Connection to ensure that Nginx handles WebSocket connections correctly.

Step 2: Restart Nginx service

sudo service nginx restart

or

sudo systemctl restart nginx

Please select the appropriate commands based on your operating system and Nginx installation method.

verify

• After the configuration is completed, we can verify whether Nginx is effective as the WebSocket proxy. Follow the steps below to verify:
• Start the backend WebSocket server.
• Use a client tool that supports WebSocket or a browser to access ws://your_domain.com/ws and try to establish a WebSocket connection.
• Check that the connection is established successfully and ensure that real-time communication works properly.

Summarize

In this article, we learned how to configure Nginx as a WebSocket proxy to enable proxy and real-time bidirectional communication for WebSocket connections.

By following the steps above to configure Nginx and knowing how to set up the appropriate proxy header information, you can forward WebSocket connections to the backend server and enable high-performance and reliable real-time communication.

The above is personal experience. I hope you can give you a reference and I hope you can support me more.