If you’re running a web server on Ubuntu, there’s a good chance you’re using Nginx as your web server software. Nginx is a popular open-source web server that is known for its speed, scalability, and ease of use. However, like any software, Nginx can encounter issues that require you to restart the service.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to restart Nginx on Ubuntu. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced system administrator, this guide will help you quickly and easily restart Nginx on your Ubuntu server.
Prerequisites
Before we begin, you’ll need to have access to an Ubuntu server with Nginx installed. You should also have root or sudo privileges to execute commands.
Step 1: Check Nginx Status
Before you restart Nginx, you should check its status to see if it’s running. To do this, open a terminal window and run the following command:
sudo systemctl status nginx
If Nginx is running, you’ll see output similar to this:
● nginx.service - A high performance web server and a reverse proxy server
Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/nginx.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Tue 2021-08-10 17:20:52 UTC; 1 weeks 2 days ago
Docs: man:nginx(8)
Process: 12345 ExecStart=/usr/sbin/nginx -g daemon on; master_process on; (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
Main PID: 12346 (nginx)
Tasks: 2 (limit: 4704)
Memory: 2.2M
CGroup: /system.slice/nginx.service
├─12346 nginx: master process /usr/sbin/nginx -g daemon on; master_process on;
└─12347 nginx: worker process
If Nginx is not running, you’ll see output similar to this:
● nginx.service - A high performance web server and a reverse proxy server
Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/nginx.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: inactive (dead) since Tue 2021-08-10 17:20:52 UTC; 1 weeks 2 days ago
Docs: man:nginx(8)
Process: 12345 ExecStart=/usr/sbin/nginx -g daemon on; master_process on; (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
Main PID: 12346 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
If Nginx is not running, you’ll need to start it before you can restart it.
Step 2: Stop Nginx
To restart Nginx, you’ll first need to stop the service. To do this, run the following command:
sudo systemctl stop nginx
This command will stop the Nginx service.
Step 3: Restart Nginx
Once you’ve stopped Nginx, you can restart it by running the following command:
sudo systemctl restart nginx
This command will restart the Nginx service.
Step 4: Verify Nginx Status
After you’ve restarted Nginx, you should verify its status to ensure that it’s running. To do this, run the following command:
sudo systemctl status nginx
If Nginx is running, you’ll see output similar to the output in Step 1.
Conclusion
In this guide, we’ve walked you through the steps to restart Nginx on Ubuntu. Whether you’re troubleshooting an issue or making changes to your web server configuration, restarting Nginx is a quick and easy process that can help you get your web server back up and running in no time.
By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can quickly and easily restart Nginx on your Ubuntu server, ensuring that your web server remains fast, reliable, and secure.