Nginx Reverse Proxy

Nginx runs as a global-mode service (one instance per Swarm node) within the DEV stack (dev_nginx). It handles all incoming HTTPS traffic, terminates SSL, and routes requests to the correct internal service. Despite being in the DEV stack, it serves all environments (DEV, UAT, and Shared) by connecting to all overlay networks.

Service Details

Property	Value
Service name	dev_nginx
Deploy mode	Global (1 replica per node)
Ports	80 (→ HTTPS redirect), 443 (SSL)
Networks	dev_sseris-network, sseris-uat-network, shared_harbor
Configs	24+ Docker configs for server blocks
SSL certs	Mounted from /etc/letsencrypt/live/ayinza.dev/

How It Works

1. All *.ayinza.dev DNS records point to Contabo (84.247.134.135)
2. Nginx on Contabo receives the request, checks the server_name
3. Routes to the correct internal Docker service via overlay network
4. DEV services on Azure are reachable through the overlay network

Docker Configs

Nginx server blocks are stored as Docker configs, not files on disk. Each domain has its own config.

# List all nginx configs
docker config ls | grep nginx

# Inspect a specific config
docker config inspect <config_name> --pretty

Adding a New Domain

1. Create the nginx config file with the server block:

   server {
       listen 443 ssl;
       server_name newservice.ayinza.dev;
       ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/ayinza.dev/fullchain.pem;
       ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/ayinza.dev/privkey.pem;
       location / {
           proxy_pass http://service-name:port;
           proxy_set_header Host $host;
           proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
       }
   }

2. Create a Docker config from the file:

   docker config create nginx_newservice_conf newservice.conf

3. Update nginx.yml to reference the new config and mount it in the Nginx service

4. Redeploy Nginx:

   docker stack deploy -c /home/kaks/stacks/nginx.yml dev

5. Verify by visiting https://newservice.ayinza.dev

Caution

When updating an existing config, you must remove the old config and create a new one — Docker configs are immutable. You’ll also need to update the config name reference in nginx.yml.

Stack File

Located at /home/kaks/stacks/nginx.yml on Azure.