What each directive actually does

No target numbers here — read the live symptoms (netstat, the log, systemctl status) to judge what "enough" looks like for your traffic.

Web Server · nginx

prod-web-01

Next up · Level 1 of 10

/etc/nginx/nginx.conf

How to apply

systemctl reload nginx

dynamic directives take effect without dropping connections

worker_connections

Max simultaneous connections each worker process can hold open. Too low under real traffic and new connections queue or get dropped.

client_max_body_size

Largest request body nginx will accept before rejecting with a 413. Too low and legitimate uploads fail.

keepalive_timeout

How long an idle keep-alive connection stays open for reuse. Set to 0 and every request pays a fresh TCP + TLS handshake.

worker_processes

Number of worker processes nginx forks — should roughly track available vCPUs so load spreads across cores.

9 more references unlock as you clear levels. Keeping them hidden means no spoilers for what is coming.