In this chapter, we saw how NGINX can be used effectively as a reverse proxy. It can act in three roles, either individually or in some combination, which is to enhance security, to enable scalability, and/or to enhance performance. Security is achieved through separation of the application from the end user. NGINX can be combined with multiple upstream servers to achieve scalability. The performance of an application relates directly to how responsive it is to a user's request. We explored different mechanisms to achieve a more responsive application. Faster response times mean happier users.
Up next is an exploration of NGINX as an HTTP server. We have so far only discussed how NGINX can act as a reverse proxy, but there is so much more that NGINX is capable of.