How does Nginx handle dynamic content? What are the configuration methods?

How does Nginx handle dynamic content? What are the configuration methods?

Nginx doesn't process dynamic content itself, but forwards requests to backend application servers through protocols like FastCGI, uWSGI, SCGI, etc.

FastCGI Configuration (PHP):

nginx
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;
    
    root /var/www/html;
    index index.php index.html;
    
    # PHP file handling
    location ~ \.php$ {
        try_files $uri =404;
        
        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php8.0-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        
        # FastCGI parameters
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        fastcgi_param QUERY_STRING $query_string;
        fastcgi_param REQUEST_METHOD $request_method;
        fastcgi_param CONTENT_TYPE $content_type;
        fastcgi_param CONTENT_LENGTH $content_length;
        
        include fastcgi_params;
        
        # Timeout settings
        fastcgi_connect_timeout 60s;
        fastcgi_send_timeout 60s;
        fastcgi_read_timeout 60s;
        
        # Buffer settings
        fastcgi_buffer_size 4k;
        fastcgi_buffers 8 4k;
    }
    
    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }
}

uWSGI Configuration (Python):

nginx
upstream django_backend {
    server unix:/var/run/uwsgi/app.sock;
    server 127.0.0.1:8000;
}

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;
    
    root /var/www/html;
    
    location / {
        uwsgi_pass django_backend;
        include uwsgi_params;
        
        # uWSGI parameters
        uwsgi_param UWSGI_SCHEME $scheme;
        uwsgi_param SERVER_NAME $server_name;
        uwsgi_param REMOTE_ADDR $remote_addr;
        
        # Timeout settings
        uwsgi_connect_timeout 60s;
        uwsgi_send_timeout 60s;
        uwsgi_read_timeout 60s;
        
        # Buffer settings
        uwsgi_buffering on;
        uwsgi_buffer_size 4k;
        uwsgi_buffers 8 4k;
    }
    
    # Static files
    location /static/ {
        alias /var/www/html/static/;
        expires 1y;
        add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
    }
}

SCGI Configuration (Ruby):

nginx
upstream rails_backend {
    server unix:/var/run/scgi/rails.sock;
    server 127.0.0.1:9000;
}

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;
    
    root /var/www/html;
    
    location / {
        scgi_pass rails_backend;
        include scgi_params;
        
        # SCGI parameters
        scgi_param SCGI 1;
        scgi_param SERVER_SOFTWARE nginx;
        
        # Timeout settings
        scgi_connect_timeout 60s;
        scgi_send_timeout 60s;
        scgi_read_timeout 60s;
    }
}

HTTP Proxy Configuration:

nginx
upstream nodejs_backend {
    server 127.0.0.1:3000;
    server 127.0.0.1:3001;
}

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;
    
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://nodejs_backend;
        
        # Proxy header settings
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        
        # Timeout settings
        proxy_connect_timeout 60s;
        proxy_send_timeout 60s;
        proxy_read_timeout 60s;
        
        # Buffer settings
        proxy_buffering on;
        proxy_buffer_size 4k;
        proxy_buffers 8 4k;
        
        # WebSocket support
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
    }
}

FastCGI Caching:

nginx
# Define FastCGI cache
fastcgi_cache_path /var/cache/nginx/fastcgi levels=1:2 keys_zone=fastcgi_cache:10m max_size=1g inactive=60m;

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;
    
    root /var/www/html;
    
    location ~ \.php$ {
        try_files $uri =404;
        
        # Enable FastCGI cache
        fastcgi_cache fastcgi_cache;
        fastcgi_cache_valid 200 60m;
        fastcgi_cache_valid 404 1m;
        fastcgi_cache_key "$scheme$request_method$host$request_uri";
        
        # Cache bypass conditions
        fastcgi_cache_bypass $skip_cache;
        fastcgi_no_cache $skip_cache;
        
        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php8.0-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
        
        # Add cache status header
        add_header X-Cache-Status $upstream_cache_status;
    }
}

Dynamic Content Load Balancing:

nginx
upstream php_backend {
    least_conn;
    server 192.168.1.100:9000 weight=3;
    server 192.168.1.101:9000 weight=2;
    server 192.168.1.102:9000 weight=1;
    keepalive 32;
}

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;
    
    root /var/www/html;
    
    location ~ \.php$ {
        fastcgi_pass php_backend;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
    }
}

Dynamic Content Compression:

nginx
http {
    # Enable Gzip compression
    gzip on;
    gzip_vary on;
    gzip_min_length 1024;
    gzip_comp_level 6;
    gzip_types text/plain text/css text/xml text/javascript 
               application/json application/javascript 
               application/xml application/rss+xml;
    
    server {
        listen 80;
        server_name example.com;
        
        root /var/www/html;
        
        location ~ \.php$ {
            fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php8.0-fpm.sock;
            fastcgi_index index.php;
            fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
            include fastcgi_params;
        }
    }
}

Dynamic Content Security:

nginx
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;
    
    root /var/www/html;
    
    # Deny access to sensitive files
    location ~* \.(htaccess|htpasswd|ini|log|sh|sql|bak|old|swp|tmp)$ {
        deny all;
        access_log off;
    }
    
    # PHP file handling
    location ~ \.php$ {
        # Prevent PHP file upload execution
        if ($request_filename ~* \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|ico)$) {
            return 403;
        }
        
        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php8.0-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
        
        # Limit request size
        client_max_body_size 10m;
    }
    
    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }
}

Dynamic Content Monitoring:

nginx
# Custom log format
log_format dynamic '$remote_addr - $remote_user [$time_local] '
                  '"$request" $status $body_bytes_sent '
                  '"$http_referer" "$http_user_agent" '
                  'rt=$request_time uct="$upstream_connect_time" '
                  'uht="$upstream_header_time" urt="$upstream_response_time" '
                  'cache=$upstream_cache_status';

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;
    
    root /var/www/html;
    
    access_log /var/log/nginx/dynamic.log dynamic;
    
    location ~ \.php$ {
        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php8.0-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
        
        # Add performance headers
        add_header X-Response-Time $request_time;
        add_header X-Upstream-Time $upstream_response_time;
    }
}

Complete Dynamic Content Configuration Example:

nginx
user nginx;
worker_processes auto;

http {
    # FastCGI cache
    fastcgi_cache_path /var/cache/nginx/fastcgi levels=1:2 keys_zone=fastcgi_cache:10m max_size=1g inactive=60m;
    
    # Gzip compression
    gzip on;
    gzip_vary on;
    gzip_min_length 1024;
    gzip_comp_level 6;
    gzip_types text/plain text/css text/xml text/javascript 
               application/json application/javascript 
               application/xml application/rss+xml;
    
    # Log format
    log_format dynamic '$remote_addr - $remote_user [$time_local] '
                      '"$request" $status $body_bytes_sent '
                      '"$http_referer" "$http_user_agent" '
                      'rt=$request_time uct="$upstream_connect_time" '
                      'uht="$upstream_header_time" urt="$upstream_response_time" '
                      'cache=$upstream_cache_status';
    
    # PHP backend
    upstream php_backend {
        least_conn;
        server 192.168.1.100:9000;
        server 192.168.1.101:9000;
        keepalive 32;
    }
    
    server {
        listen 80;
        server_name example.com;
        
        root /var/www/html;
        index index.php index.html;
        
        access_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.access.log dynamic;
        error_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.error.log warn;
        
        # Deny access to sensitive files
        location ~* \.(htaccess|htpasswd|ini|log|sh|sql|bak|old|swp|tmp)$ {
            deny all;
            access_log off;
        }
        
        # Static resources
        location ~* \.(css|js|jpg|jpeg|png|gif|ico|svg|woff|woff2)$ {
            expires 1y;
            add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
            access_log off;
        }
        
        # PHP file handling
        location ~ \.php$ {
            try_files $uri =404;
            
            # Enable cache
            fastcgi_cache fastcgi_cache;
            fastcgi_cache_valid 200 60m;
            fastcgi_cache_valid 404 1m;
            fastcgi_cache_key "$scheme$request_method$host$request_uri";
            
            fastcgi_pass php_backend;
            fastcgi_index index.php;
            fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
            include fastcgi_params;
            
            # Timeout settings
            fastcgi_connect_timeout 60s;
            fastcgi_send_timeout 60s;
            fastcgi_read_timeout 60s;
            
            # Buffer settings
            fastcgi_buffer_size 4k;
            fastcgi_buffers 8 4k;
            
            # Add cache status header
            add_header X-Cache-Status $upstream_cache_status;
            add_header X-Response-Time $request_time;
            add_header X-Upstream-Time $upstream_response_time;
        }
        
        # Main routing
        location / {
            try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
        }
    }
}

Dynamic Content Handling Best Practices:

1. Use caching: Enable FastCGI cache to reduce backend load
2. Load balancing: Use upstream for load balancing
3. Reasonable timeouts: Set timeout based on business requirements
4. Buffer optimization: Adjust buffer size for better performance
5. Compress responses: Enable Gzip compression to reduce data transfer
6. Security configuration: Prevent file upload execution and sensitive file access
7. Monitor performance: Log response time and cache hit rate
8. Static separation: Separate static resources to independent paths
9. Connection keepalive: Use keepalive to reduce connection overhead
10. Error handling: Configure friendly error pages