server_name directive in Nginx - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Configuring the <code>server_name</code> Directive in Nginx

📖 Scenario: You are setting up a simple web server using Nginx. To make sure your server responds to the right website address, you need to configure the server_name directive correctly.Think of server_name like the name tag on a mailbox. It tells Nginx which website address it should listen for and respond to.

🎯 Goal: Learn how to set the server_name directive in an Nginx server block to match a specific domain name.You will create a basic Nginx server block configuration that listens on port 80 and responds to the domain example.com.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create an Nginx server block configuration

Set the server_name directive to example.com

Listen on port 80

Add a simple location / block with a return 200 and a message

Print the final configuration

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Web servers use the <code>server_name</code> directive to know which website to serve when multiple domains point to the same server IP.

💼 Career

Understanding how to configure <code>server_name</code> is essential for DevOps roles managing web servers and deploying websites.

1

Create the basic Nginx server block

Create a variable called nginx_config and assign it a multi-line string that starts with server { and includes a listen 80; directive inside the block.

Nginx

# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use triple quotes or escaped newlines to create a multi-line string.

2

Add the server_name directive

Add a line inside the server block in nginx_config that sets server_name example.com; exactly after the listen 80; line.

Nginx

nginx_config = "server {\n    listen 80;\n    # Add server_name directive here\n}"

Need a hint?

The server_name directive tells Nginx which domain to respond to.

3

Add a simple location / block

Add a location / block inside the server block in nginx_config that returns status 200 with the text Welcome to example.com!. Use return 200 'Welcome to example.com!'; inside the location block.

Nginx

nginx_config = "server {\n    listen 80;\n    server_name example.com;\n    # Add location block here\n}"

Need a hint?

The location / block handles requests to the root URL.

4

Print the final Nginx configuration

Write a print statement to display the content of the nginx_config variable.

Nginx

nginx_config = "server {\n    listen 80;\n    server_name example.com;\n    location / {\n        return 200 'Welcome to example.com!';\n    }\n}"
# Print the nginx_config variable below
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use print(nginx_config) to show the configuration.