NGINX is a high-performance web server, reverse proxy, and load balancer that was first released in 2004. It is open-source software that is widely used in web hosting, content delivery, and other applications that require high availability and scalability.
NGINX is known for its ability to handle a large number of concurrent connections while using minimal system resources. It achieves this by using an event-driven, asynchronous architecture that allows it to handle many simultaneous connections without creating new threads or processes for each connection. NGINX can also cache content and serve static files quickly and efficiently.
In addition to serving as a web server, NGINX is often used as a reverse proxy and load balancer. As a reverse proxy, NGINX acts as an intermediary between clients and servers, forwarding client requests to the appropriate server and returning the server's response to the client. As a load balancer, NGINX distributes incoming client requests across multiple servers to improve performance and availability.
NGINX is highly customizable and extensible through its module system, which allows developers to add new features and functionality to the server. NGINX modules are available for a wide range of applications, including caching, SSL/TLS termination, and authentication.
NGINX is free and open-source software that is available under the terms of the 2-clause BSD license. It is actively maintained by the NGINX open-source community, and commercial support is available through NGINX, Inc., the company behind NGINX.
