Using NGINX as a reverse proxy

If you already have NGINX running on your server, you will not be able to deploy the Quantum server on port 80, since the port is already occupied, so you will have an error from Docker.

To fix this, simply change the exposure port to the server's host network within the docker-compose.yml file, and then reverse proxy through NGINX to that port, for example:

services:
  backend-server:
    ports:
      # - "80:80"
      - "8080:80"

We've commented out the line declaring port '80' exposure on the local network for accessing the Quantum server. Instead, we're now utilizing port '8080' to redirect to port '80' within the Docker container where the Quantum server is hosted.

Now this still won't work as we need to add the following configuration inside the existing http{} block in /etc/nginx/nginx.conf.

server {
    server_name _;

	location / {
		proxy_set_header Host $host;
		proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
		proxy_pass http://0.0.0.0:8080;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
	}
    
    listen 80;
}

In the server_name directive, we use _ to denote any requests not explicitly defined in NGINX. This configuration directs such requests to the address specified in proxy_pass. For instance, consider the domain bar.example.com which resolves to your server's IP address. Upon accessing this domain, NGINX intercepts the request. However, lacking a corresponding server{} block with server_name bar.example. com NGINX forwards the request to http://0.0.0.0:8080. This destination hosts instructions to handle the requested domain

Furthermore, you'll need to create another block akin to the preceding one. While the previous block facilitates managing various domains associated with your application, this new 'server{}' directive will exclusively handle requests directed to the quantum backend. This approach proves advantageous as it allows you to precisely define the server's domain and assign it an SSL certificate.

server{
	server_name quantum-server.your_domain.com;

	location / {
		proxy_set_header Host $host;
		proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
		proxy_pass http://0.0.0.0:8080;
		proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
		proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
		proxy_http_version 1.1;
		proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
		proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
	}
}

Notice how we now specify the server_name with the domain through which we intend to route requests to our backend server. Subsequently, we employ reverse proxying with the same configuration as the preceding block. Should you opt for SSL encryption, you have the option to manually configure it at this juncture. Alternatively, you can leverage tools such as certbot --nginx for streamlined certificate management.

Consider that you should adjust the endpoint set in the VITE_SERVER environment variable located in client/.env.

Now, you just have to reload the NGINX configuration for the changes to take effect.

sudo nginx -s reload

Problem solved!