appa-net/zet.home.arpa/nginx/README.md

nginx — zet.home.arpa

SSL-terminating reverse proxy. Handles all inbound HTTPS traffic and routes to backend services by hostname.

Overview

Field	Value
Package	nginx (Ubuntu apt)
Config	/etc/nginx/sites-available/kenjim.conf
SSL cert	/etc/nginx/ssl/kenjim.com/ (managed by acme.sh)
Ports	80/tcp (HTTP→HTTPS redirect), 443/tcp (HTTPS)
Service	nginx.service (systemd, enabled)

Architecture

Internet → pfSense NAT (80,443) → nginx on 172.27.0.35
                                       │
                              ┌────────┴─────────┐
                         git.kenjim.com     (future)
                              │
                           Gitea :3000

LAN clients resolve *.kenjim.com subdomains directly to 172.27.0.35 via split DNS (Pi-hole + pfSense Unbound host overrides), avoiding hairpin NAT through pfSense's WAN interface.

Virtual Hosts

Hostname	Backend	Notes
git.kenjim.com	http://127.0.0.1:3000	Gitea (systemd service)
www.kenjim.com	http://127.0.0.1:8080	Update port when container is running
kenji.kenjim.com	http://127.0.0.1:8082	Update port when container is running
gt.kenjim.com	—	Returns 444 (CNAME points elsewhere)
default (unknown host)	—	Returns 444 (drops connection)

Config File

Location: /etc/nginx/sites-available/kenjim.conf
Repo copy: kenjim.conf

To add a new Docker container backend, add a new server {} block following the existing pattern and update the proxy_pass port to match the container's host port mapping.

SSL Certificate

Certificate is managed by acme.sh — see ../ssl/.

File	Path
Full chain	/etc/nginx/ssl/kenjim.com/fullchain.pem
Private key	/etc/nginx/ssl/kenjim.com/key.pem

Directory: owned by kenjim:www-data, mode 750.
Sudoers rule at /etc/sudoers.d/acme-nginx-reload allows acme.sh to reload nginx without a password on cert renewal.

Service Management

sudo systemctl status nginx
sudo systemctl reload nginx      # reload config (no downtime)
sudo systemctl restart nginx     # full restart
sudo nginx -t                    # test config syntax before applying

pfSense NAT Rules

WAN Port	Redirect to	Port	Description
80/tcp	172.27.0.35	80	HTTP → nginx (redirects to HTTPS)
443/tcp	172.27.0.35	443	HTTPS → nginx

Adding a New Docker Container

1. Start the container with a host port mapping, e.g. -p 8083:80
2. Add a server block to /etc/nginx/sites-available/kenjim.conf:

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    listen [::]:443 ssl;
    server_name newservice.kenjim.com;

    ssl_certificate     /etc/nginx/ssl/kenjim.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/nginx/ssl/kenjim.com/key.pem;

    ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
    ssl_ciphers   HIGH:!aNULL:!MD5;

    location / {
        proxy_pass         http://127.0.0.1:8083;
        proxy_set_header   Host              $host;
        proxy_set_header   X-Real-IP         $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header   X-Forwarded-For   $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header   X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

3. Add the domain to the cert's SAN list if not already covered (see ../ssl/)
4. Add a CNAME in GoDaddy: newservice → lair.kenjim.com
5. Add split DNS overrides in Pi-hole and pfSense Unbound
6. Test and reload: sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx

Migration Notes

To move nginx to a new server:

1. sudo apt install nginx
2. Copy /etc/nginx/sites-available/kenjim.conf
3. Copy /etc/nginx/ssl/kenjim.com/ (cert files)
4. Copy /etc/sudoers.d/acme-nginx-reload
5. Re-run acme.sh --install-cert to wire up the renewal hook to the new host
6. Update pfSense NAT rules to point to the new host IP
7. Update split DNS overrides to the new host IP