Creating an Nginx Server Using the CentOS Image

Process Flow

Preparations

1. Before purchasing a FlexusL instance, sign up for a HUAWEI ID and enable Huawei Cloud services. For details, see Signing Up a HUAWEI ID and Enabling Huawei Cloud Services and Completing Real-Name Authentication.

   If you have enabled Huawei Cloud services and completed real-name authentication, skip this step.

2. Ensure that your account has sufficient balance. If not, top up your account.

Step 1: Purchase a FlexusL Instance

1. On the Flexus L Instance page, click Buy FlexusL and specify parameters required for purchasing a FlexusL instance.

   For details, see Purchasing a FlexusL Instance.

   Parameter	Example	Description
   Region	CN-Hong Kong	For low network latency and quick resource access, select the region nearest to your target users. After a FlexusL instance is created, the region cannot be changed. Exercise caution when selecting a region. NOTE: By default, all FlexusL instances created by the same account in the same region are located in the same VPC. They can communicate with each other over a private network. FlexusL instances that are created by different accounts or located in different regions cannot communicate with each other over a private network. For details, see Resource Configuration for FlexusL Instances.
   Image	CentOS 7.9	OS image: only includes the necessary OSs to launch servers, without any application data or environment configurations. After a server is created from an OS image, the server runs on an OS without any applications installed. You can install applications based on your service requirements. For details, see Images Supported by FlexusL Instances.
   Instance Specifications	2 vCPUs | 2 GiB memory and 60 GiB system disk	Select instance specifications based on your service requirements. Outbound traffic exceeding the traffic package is billed. For billing details, see Billing.
   (Optional) Instance Name	Nginx	You can customize your instance name. If this parameter is left blank, the instance name is in the default format: image name-region-random number. In a batch creation, a hyphen followed by an incremental number is added to the end of each instance name by default.
   (Optional) Associated Services	Data disk: 10 GiB Host security Cloud backup vault: 70 GiB	You can associate other services (EVS, HSS, and CBR) with your FlexusL instance as needed.
   Required Duration	1 month Auto-renew	The minimum duration of a purchase is one month and the maximum duration is three years. Auto-renew is enabled by default, which means the purchased FlexusL instances will be automatically renewed before they expire. If you do not enable auto-renew during the purchase process, you can still enable it later after the instances are created. Monthly subscription allows you to renew the subscription for one month every time. The number of renewal times is not limited. For more information about auto-renewal rules, see Auto-Renewal Rules.
   Quantity	1	Set the number of FlexusL instances to be purchased. One instance is created by default. A maximum of five instances can be created in the same region. To increase the quota, submit a service ticket.

2. Click Buy Now.

   On the displayed page, confirm the order details, read and select the agreement, and click Submit.

3. Select a payment method and complete the payment.
4. Go back to the FlexusL console and view the purchased FlexusL instance.

Step 2: Log In to the Cloud Server

1. Locate the purchased instance and choose > Reset Password.
2. Set and confirm a new password as prompted.

   If you reset the password for a running server, the password change is applied only after the next restart. Auto Restart is selected by default.

3. Click OK.

   The server status is Restarting. Wait until the status changes to Running and go to the next step.

4. Locate the purchased instance and click Remote Login.
5. Enter the username and password as prompted to log in to the server.

   The username is root, and the password is the one set in step 2.

Step 3: Configure the Nginx Server

1. Add the Nginx yum repository of CentOS 7.

   sudo rpm -Uvh http://nginx.org/packages/centos/7/noarch/RPMS/nginx-release-centos-7-0.el7.ngx.noarch.rpm

   

   The command may fail to be executed because the Nginx version is continuously updated. In this case, obtain the latest Nginx software package from http://nginx.org/packages/centos/7/noarch/RPMS and use it to replace the nginx-release-centos-7-0.el7.ngx.noarch.rpm field.

2. Install Nginx.

   sudo yum install -y nginx

3. Start Nginx.

   sudo systemctl start nginx.service

4. Configure automatic startup for Nginx.

   sudo systemctl enable nginx.service

5. Obtain the EIP of the purchased instance.

6. Enter the EIP in the address bar of a local browser to preview the default Nginx server page.

   If the page can be previewed properly, the Nginx server is successfully deployed.

   Figure 1 Default Nginx server page
   

(Optional) Step 4: Add and Resolve a Domain Name

If you want your users to access the website through a domain name, add and resolve a domain name for the server. If the website is only used for personal development or testing, there is no need to add a domain name and you can skip this step.

1. In the navigation pane on the left, choose Cloud Servers and then click the server name.
2. On the Server Details page, click the Domain Names tab and click Add Domain Name.

   Parameter	Description
   Domain Name	Enter a domain name that will be added for the instance, for example, wpwebsite.com. NOTE: A domain name that is not registered can be added. After the domain name is added, it must be registered and licensed. To ensure that a domain name can be used normally, register the domain name and complete ICP licensing before adding the domain name.
   Enterprise Project	Select an enterprise project from the drop-down list. Enterprise projects are associated with public zones. You can manage public zones by enterprise project. NOTE: This parameter is displayed only when your account is an enterprise account.

3. Click OK.
4. In the row containing the wpwebsite.com domain name, click Configure Record Set.
   

   Parameter	Description
   Domain Name Prefix	If you enter a prefix, a subdomain is used for website access. Either the domain name or its subdomains can be resolved to the EIP of the instance. Suppose the domain name is wpwebsite.com. If the domain name prefix is left empty, wpwebsite.com is resolved to the EIP. If the domain name prefix is www, the subdomain www.wpwebsite.com is mapped to the EIP.
   EIP	The EIP bound to the instance is displayed here automatically.

5. On the Domain Names tab, view the domain name resolution details.
6. Apply for ICP licensing for the domain name.

   To successfully access the server using a domain name, you must file the domain name. Domain name filing in the Huawei Cloud ICP license center is free of charge. For details, see ICP Filing Process.

(Optional) Step 5: Apply for and Install an SSL Certificate for Your Instance

Install an SSL certificate if you need to enable HTTPS on your server. For details, see About SCM and SSL Certificate Usage.

Related Information

• If you want to deploy your FlexusL instance by yourself, refer to the instructions in Setting Up Websites.
  

  When you set up the environment by referring to Setting Up Websites, ensure that the image version used by the FlexusL instance is the same as that in the tutorial to prevent command execution failures caused by version incompatibility.

• For details about how to remotely log in to the server, change or reinstall the OS, upgrade the package, add data disks, and back up data, see FlexusL Operations.