Step 1: Update Your System

Before installing any new software, it’s important to make sure your system is up-to-date. Run the following commands to update your system:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

This ensures that your server is running the latest packages and security updates. Whether you are using a local server or a UK Windows VPS, keeping your system updated is essential.

Step 2: Install Nginx

Install Nginx using the package manager with the following command:

sudo apt install nginx

Once installed, you can start and enable Nginx to run at boot:

sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx
            

Nginx should now be up and running. You can verify this by navigating to http://your-server-ip in a browser. This setup works for both local environments and Windows Virtual Private Server hosting.

Step 3: Install Brotli Module for Nginx

Brotli is a compression algorithm that can significantly reduce the size of your static files. To enable Brotli in Nginx, you first need to install the required modules. Start by installing the dependencies:

sudo apt install git gcc make zlib1g-dev libpcre3 libpcre3-dev

Next, download and compile the Brotli module:

cd /usr/local/src
sudo git clone https://github.com/google/ngx_brotli.git
cd ngx_brotli
sudo git submodule update --init --recursive
            

Now recompile Nginx with Brotli support:

cd /usr/local/src
sudo apt-get source nginx
cd nginx-*
sudo ./configure --add-module=/usr/local/src/ngx_brotli
sudo make
sudo make install
            

Step 4: Enable Brotli in Nginx

After installing the Brotli module, you need to enable it in your Nginx configuration. Open the Nginx configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

Add the following Brotli settings within the http block:

brotli on;
brotli_comp_level 6;
brotli_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript text/xml application/xml application/xml+rss text/javascript;
            

Save and exit the file, then restart Nginx to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

Brotli compression is now enabled. This improves your website's performance, especially when hosted on platforms like Windows VPS hosting UK.

Step 5: Mirror Your Website with rsync

To ensure that your website is available across multiple servers, you can use rsync to mirror your website's files. This is particularly useful if you're running multiple VPS Windows Servers or want to maintain backups.

Use the following command to sync your website files to a remote server:

rsync -avz /var/www/html/ user@remote-server:/var/www/html/

This command synchronizes your website’s files from the local server to a remote server, ensuring that both servers have the same content. Automating this with cron can help ensure your data is always up-to-date.

Step 6: Test Brotli Compression

After setting up Brotli, you should test whether the compression is working correctly. You can do this using an online Brotli checker or by running the following curl command:

curl -H "Accept-Encoding: br" -I http://your-server-ip

If Brotli is working, you should see content-encoding: br in the response headers.