Nginx Reverse Proxy

B1ueW01f

Hi all,

Am I missing something or is Nginx not available on pfsense? And if not is there a particular reason?

I know alternatives like squid are available, just more used to nginx - but based on the logic that it seems to be the go to http/rp tool.

rajl

@B1ueW01f:

Hi all,

Am I missing something or is Nginx not available on pfsense? And if not is there a particular reason?

I know alternatives like squid are available, just more used to nginx - but based on the logic that it seems to be the go to http/rp tool.

There's no official PFSense package that I'm aware of. However, PFSense is built on top of FreeBSD, so you can install Nginx manually using FreeBSD's package manager or ports. Just login via SSH at the command line as the admin user and type "pkg install nginx." Pros and Cons of this approach:

Pro:
You can install nginx

Con:
No integration with PFSense WebGui
Must configure via text config files in /usr/local/etc/nginx
Unsupported by PFSense project.

jimp

pfSense 2.3 is using nginx to drive the WebGUI so it's already there.

We don't have a GUI to setup any load balancing with nginx, but you could use a manual config and launch a separate instance on a port that is different from the GUI.

B1ueW01f

Thanks guys, very useful and concise answers from both.

@jimp:

pfSense 2.3 is using nginx to drive the WebGUI so it's already there.

Thats particularly what I was looking for thanks, had found a few posts mentioning nginx was already there but couldnt find anything stating how/for what purpose beyond suspicion.

Dont suppose you know if WebGUI is in the works? Seems like a natural progression. I'll be more than content with manual configs, just curious on that front. :)

jimp

No plans for a pfSense package for that at the moment but we've tossed around the idea before. Since it's all in base already it's definitely more attractive than squid.

mrpsycho

my solution is quite simple:

copy nginx.conf with basic setup, and add something like

include path/to/conf.d

and run nginx with -c flag.

i also installed Shellcmd to autostart my nginx at boot.

and, of course, don't forget to forward ports from EXT interface to your nginx.