Nginx Proxy Manager on Oracle Cloud Compute + Custom Domain + SSL

Nginx Proxy Manager on Oracle Cloud Compute + Custom Domain + SSL

Matt Mulvaney's photo
Matt Mulvaney
·

4 min read

Nginx Proxy Manager is a powerful, open-source application that simplifies the management of Nginx reverse proxy configurations. It provides an intuitive web-based interface for users to easily create and manage proxy hosts, handle SSL certificate management, and route incoming traffic to various backend services.

In this blog post, I'll guide you through the practical steps to set up Nginx Proxy Manager on Oracle Cloud Compute. I'll also show you how to use Cloudflare for a 15-year origin certificate, enable SSL encryption, and deploy a simple containerized web server to greet visitors with a basic message. While this tutorial will help you secure your website and enable SSL, it can also serve as a foundation for more complex applications, such as WordPress.

Let's get started on enhancing your website's security and performance.

Install Nginx Proxy Manager

  1. You'll need an Oracle Compute box. If you don't have one, get one here.
    https://mattmulvaney.hashnode.dev/create-a-compute-instance-on-oracle-cloud

  2. Get Docker-ce installed using this method. https://mattmulvaney.hashnode.dev/docker-not-podman-docker-compose-for-oracle-compute

  3. Open ports 80, 81 & 443 using this method.
    https://mattmulvaney.hashnode.dev/opening-ports-for-an-oracle-compute-instance

  4. Install nano

     sudo dnf install nano -y

  5. Create a nginx-proxy-manager.yml file

     nano nginx-proxy-manager.yml

  6. Paste in the following

     version: '3.8'
 services:
   app:
     image: 'jc21/nginx-proxy-manager:latest'
     restart: unless-stopped
     ports:
       - '80:80'
       - '81:81'
       - '443:443'
     volumes:
       - ./data:/data
       - ./letsencrypt:/etc/letsencrypt
     container_name: nginx-proxy-manager

  7. CTRL+X to save the file

  8. Start the container

     docker-compose -f nginx-proxy-manager.yml up -d

  9. Find the login link

     external_ip=$(curl -s ipconfig.io)
 echo "Now go to http://$external_ip:81"

  10. In your browser go to the link it tells you

  11. Log in with

    username: admin@example.com
password: changeme

  12. Follow the instructions to change your username and password. You'll now log in with these details.

Domain Configuration

We have to set some things up in your domain. I'm using Cloudflare. So you'll have to find the correct settings for your provider.

  1. Log in to Cloudflare Dashboard

  2. Set an A records for your domain name (do not include www.) e.g snescentral.com

  3. Ensure the Proxy Status is orange/Proxied (see picture above)

  4. In SSL/TLS Ensure that the SSL/TLS encryption mode is Full

  5. Click SSL/TLS > Origin Server > Create Certificate

  6. Ensure it is valid for 15 years and click Create

  7. Copy the Origin Certificate into a file called cert.pem

  8. Copy the Private Key into a file called key.pem

  9. Click on the Cloudflare logo

  10. Click on Zero Trust > follow the steps to set it up for free

  11. Click on Access > Tunnels > Create Tunnel

  12. Give it a tunnel name e.g my-tunnel

  13. Click Save Tunnel

  14. Click on Redhat

  15. Copy the first box to the clipboard and paste it into your compute box to run it.

  16. It should now be connected

  17. Click Next

  18. Configure it like this... ensure you pick your domain name

  19. Click Save Hostname

  20. Congratulations: You can now use **dashboard.**yourdomain.com to access the admin panel

Configure Nginx Proxy Manager

  1. Click on SSL Certificates

  2. Click Add SSL Certificate (not the big pink button but the smaller white one in the top right corner)

  3. Click Custom

  4. Enter the details below selecting the key.pem and cert.pem files you picked earlier

  5. Click Save

  6. We need something to land on, so let's create a small Hello World webserver. Note, I know Nginx Proxy Manager created a network called opc_default, so I'm going to add this container to that network

     docker run -P -d \
 -p 6080:80 \
 -p 6443:443 \
 --network opc_default \
 --name hello-world \
 nginxdemos/hello

  7. Click Dashboard > Proxy Hosts > Add Proxy Host

  8. Complete as per the picture and add your domain name e.g. snescentral.com

  9. Switch to SSL and select your SSL Certificate

  10. Click Save

  11. Try out your domain name in your browser

  12. You smashed it. Your domain is running on SSL with 15 years of certificates on a demo website

Typically you'll replace the hello-world demo with a Wordpress site or similar. But we have got the foundations all setup now.

Credits: A massive thanks to Artur Morawski for his guidance. Without his help, I would've probably gone insane.

Whats the picture? Its Ripley Castle again. Visit Yorkshire!

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