NGINX Plus is mainly used as an ingress controller and for API deployment and web servers.
Technical Director at Cascade Solutions
One of the most powerful and fittest solutions in this area
Pros and Cons
- "NGINX Plus' most valuable feature is the ingress controller."
- "NGINX Plus is moderately priced, but it could give better value for money."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
NGINX Plus' most valuable feature is the ingress controller.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working with NGINX Plus for around three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
NGINX Plus will be stable if the customer does the proper sizing during the design phase. However, if this is not done, there will be challenges and issues.
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January 2025
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There are no issues with NGINX Plus' scalability.
How are customer service and support?
NGINX Plus' technical support is good.
How was the initial setup?
NGINX Plus is simple to deploy even during advanced implementation.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
NGINX Plus is moderately priced, but it could give better value for money.
What other advice do I have?
I think NGINX Plus is one of the most powerful and fittest solutions in this area, and I'd recommend it to others. I would rate NGINX Plus as eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
Head Of Technology at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
A reliable solution for load balancing, cluster production and more
Pros and Cons
- "I think installation only took a couple of minutes — no more than 10 minutes."
- "The scaling should be built into the software rather than configured from an outside source."
What is our primary use case?
We use NGINX as solution for load balancing our cluster production.
Currently, we don't have any plans to increase the usage because each license costs around $2000 - $2500.
How has it helped my organization?
We use open source nginx.
What needs improvement?
Their license fee has gone up, so that is one concern that we have. We are looking for alternative solutions which compare well and fit into our budget.
We are interested in an open-source version with the same set of features. We had to do a lot of custom coding around open source NGINX, which we were able to do.
Compared to other similar solutions on the market, I think it's over-priced. If they reduced the price by 50%, then I would definitely like to continue with them.
The scaling should be built into the software rather than configured from an outside source.
Regarding cluster-management, I should be able to provide configuration directly rather than bringing down the software and then updating it and taking it back down again.
Without going offline, if we can manage load balancing as a cluster — meaning I have to bring them down, update them, and then take it back. If that could be more dynamic, that would answer all of my requirements.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for almost ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
NGINX is stable, but scalability-wise, there would be some downtime while managing a cluster of nginx.
How are customer service and technical support?
There have been multiple occasions where they have taken their sweet time. We had the cheapest license that we could buy from them; because of that, they have a turnaround time of seven days to respond.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we used Apache and another solution, but I can't remember the name. It took roughly 30 minutes to scale up and down; that's one of the reasons why we switched to NGINX.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup can be complex. You really have to have a good understanding of their configurations. On a scale from one to five, I consider it a three.
I think installation only took a couple of minutes — no more than 10 minutes.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented it ourselves.
It takes roughly 10 minutes if I have to change the cluster or upgrade the cluster, but in the same cluster, there's no downtime as such. If I want to add additional systems, it is quite easy.
Only when we want to downsize the load balancers, then we have a little bit of downtime — two to three minutes, max. We do it in the middle of the night.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution. I think it works for a smaller cluster — it really depends on what your team is trying to achieve.
I think it's a really good product for startup projects of medium size clusters, but once your customer base starts hitting big numbers then managing clusters becomes challenging. If you go beyond the limit, then you'll start to see a negative impact.
On a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of Nine.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
NGINX Plus
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about NGINX Plus. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Devops Specialist And Infrastructure Leader at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Provides load-balancing for our two Keycloak single sign-on instances
What is our primary use case?
We use NGINX 1.12.x free version as reverse proxy to Java application servers (WildFly and Tomcat) on single instances, and use it as a load-balancer for our two Keycloak single sign-on instances too. We use AWS EC2 instances here.
How has it helped my organization?
We were just Apache 2.0 before NGINX. However, we have not compared the results of both.
What is most valuable?
Load-balancer feature, because I tried to do same with Apache 2.0 and HAProxy without sucess.
What needs improvement?
Instance service health check on the NGINX load balancer feature could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
One to three years.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Linux System Administrator at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
A lightweight web server which can be used for micro caching and load balancing
Pros and Cons
- "NGINX works much better than HAProxy in our current hardware and architecture for HTTP/HTTPS load balancing. "
- "If NGINX brings some features for health check in the open source version, it would be better. "
What is our primary use case?
I am using the NGINX web server as my web server, especially to run PHP applications and Python. The main reason that I am using NGINX in these environments is micro caching. NGINX is a lightweight web server.
How has it helped my organization?
Writing rules and configurations in NGINX can be more handy than Apache. Another usage is as a load balancer. NGINX works much better than HAProxy in our current hardware and architecture for HTTP/HTTPS load balancing.
What is most valuable?
Because of our usage:
- Micro cache
- Rate limit
- Upstream (load balancing).
What needs improvement?
If NGINX brings some features for health check in the open source version, it would be better.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
First, I used NGINX as a reverse proxy web server for Apache.
What other advice do I have?
I love NGINX, which is why I am rating it as a 10 out of 10.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Linux System Administrator at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
The robust software architecture allows for it to be scalable and very stable
Pros and Cons
- "The robust software architecture allows for it to be scalable and very stable."
- "The flexibility of its modules allow it to be scalable."
- "Zero Downtime has always been a strength in recommending infrastructure web services. NGINX allows me to execute such infrastructure with less complications and the ability to switch from server to server easily."
- "Make modules easier to enable or disable. The beauty and ugly side of the NGINX modules is you have to know how to compile the module. For beginners or non-very technical aspirant(s) going for NGINX, they have to learn how to compile the modules."
What is our primary use case?
NGINX has been primarily used as a web server, which is also used as a load balancer. The robust software architecture allows for it to be scalable and very stable.
How has it helped my organization?
Zero Downtime has always been a strength in recommending infrastructure web services. NGINX allows me to execute such infrastructure with less complications and the ability to switch from server to server easily.
What is most valuable?
NGINX's multi-thread compatibility has been the integral part of it being a robust enterprise solution.
What needs improvement?
Make modules easier to enable or disable. The beauty and ugly side of the NGINX modules is you have to know how to compile the module. For beginners or non-very technical aspirant(s) going for NGINX, they have to learn how to compile the modules.
For how long have I used the solution?
Three to five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The flexibility of its modules allow it to be scalable. You just have to know how to integrate them with various enterprise scenarios.
What about the implementation team?
I have been using NGINX for five years. I have implemented various NGINX solutions to different client requirements.
What other advice do I have?
I have no problems with it. Its stability is what makes it very much recommended as a solution for any enterprise to utilize.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Information Security Team Leader at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
Stable and reliable against DoS and DDoS attacks
Pros and Cons
- "When I worked in a security research center, we tested NGINX to support DoS and DDoS attacks, and its results were great."
- "I would like it to have a more user-friendly graphical interface."
What is our primary use case?
We are using NGINX to provide a reverse proxy in an environment of web services.
How has it helped my organization?
The product is free, reliable, and safe.
When I worked in a security research center, we tested NGINX to support DoS and DDoS attacks, and its results were great.
What is most valuable?
It is reliable.
What needs improvement?
I would like it to have a more user-friendly graphical interface.
For how long have I used the solution?
More than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No issues yet.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No issues yet.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used Microsoft ForeFront and changed because it was not stable during DDoS attacks.
How was the initial setup?
It was a simple setup.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
NGINX is a free tool in Brazil. There are some companies which do support it. The price is the cost to contract support with a specialized company, usually during consulting hours.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
No.
What other advice do I have?
I have been using it for eight years.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Lead Engineer at a tech services company
Simple To Configure And Very Stable In A Highly Utilized Environment
Pros and Cons
- "Nginx is simple to configure, very stable in a highly utilized environment and very modular, allowing DevOps to create it's own modules for interactive use with Nginx."
- "Only improvement needed that I would point to is scalability. With it, I mean clusterized organisation on a low level. At the moment, the best alternative is RHEL HA."
What is most valuable?
Simplicity, stability, and modularity. Because, if you are familiar with Apache, you will know why my first reason is simplicity. Nginx is simple to configure, very stable in a highly utilized environment and very modular, allowing DevOps to create it's own modules for interactive use with Nginx.
How has it helped my organization?
It lowered overall bugs and increased system stability. Also, it allowed our system to serve many more clients than the old system did.
What needs improvement?
Only improvement needed that I would point to is scalability. With it, I mean clusterized organisation on a low level. At the moment, the best alternative is RHEL HA.
For how long have I used the solution?
Around four to five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Yes. As I explained in areas for improvement.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have no experience with the Nginx technical team.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Yes, Apache. It was terribly complex for usage and unstable in a production environment.
How was the initial setup?
Complex. It needed a complete product rework.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I have no advice. Nginx is free. I don't have experience with the Plus version.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
No.
What other advice do I have?
Use community knowledge. Nginx is widely used worldwide and there are many experts on the web that will help you out. Also, read the documentation. Its documentation is excellent.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Updated: January 2025
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