Install NGINX and Configure for MLflow

Set up NGINX as a reverse proxy to route secure external traffic to your MLflow server.

Prerequisites

• Linux-based server (RHEL/CentOS or Ubuntu/Debian)
• Root or sudo privileges
• MLflow server running on port 5000
• SSL certificate and private key files (e.g., cert.pem and key.pem)

Steps to install

1. Install Nginx: Choose the appropriate command based on your Linux distribution.

For RHEL/CentOS:

sudo yum install -y nginx
For Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt install -y nginx

1. Configure the NGINX main file (/etc/nginx/nginx.conf)

cat _etc_nginx_nginx.conf
# For more information on configuration, see:
# * Official English Documentation: http:__nginx.org_en_docs_
# * Official Russian Documentation: http:__nginx.org_ru_docs_

user nginx;

worker_processes auto;

error_log _var_log_nginx_error.log;

pid _run_nginx.pid;

# Load dynamic modules. See _usr_share_doc_nginx_README.dynamic.

include _usr_share_nginx_modules_*.conf;

events {

worker_connections 1024;

}

http {

log_format main '$remote_addr - $remote_user [$time_local] "$request" '

'$status $body_bytes_sent "$http_referer" '

'"$http_user_agent" "$http_x_forwarded_for"';

access_log _var_log_nginx_access.log main;

sendfile on;

tcp_nopush on;

tcp_nodelay on;

keepalive_timeout 65;

types_hash_max_size 2048;

include _etc_nginx_mime.types;

default_type application_octet-stream;

# Load modular configuration files from the _etc_nginx_conf.d directory.

# See http:__nginx.org_en_docs_ngx_core_module.html#include

# for more information.

include _etc_nginx_conf.d_*.conf;

server {

listen 80 default_server;

listen [::]:80 default_server;

server_name _;

root _usr_share_nginx_html;

# Load configuration files for the default server block.

include _etc_nginx_default.d_*.conf;

location _ {

}

error_page 404 _404.html;

location = _40x.html {

}

error_page 500 502 503 504 _50x.html;

location = _50x.html {

}

}

# Settings for a TLS enabled server.

#

# server {

# listen 443 ssl http2 default_server;

# listen [::]:443 ssl http2 default_server;

# server_name _;

# root _usr_share_nginx_html;

#

# ssl_certificate "_etc_pki_nginx_server.crt";

# ssl_certificate_key "_etc_pki_nginx_private_server.key";

# ssl_session_cache shared:SSL:1m;

# ssl_session_timeout 10m;

# ssl_ciphers PROFILE=SYSTEM;

# ssl_prefer_server_ciphers on;

#

# # Load configuration files for the default server block.

# include _etc_nginx_default.d_*.conf;

#

# location _ {

# }

#

# error_page 404 _404.html;

# location = _40x.html {

# }

#

# error_page 500 502 503 504 _50x.html;

# location = _50x.html {

# }

# }

}

1. Configure reverse proxy for MLflow (/etc/nginx/conf.d/mlflow.conf)

This configuration:

• Redirects all HTTP traffic to HTTPS
• Proxies HTTPS requests securely to the MLflow server

cat _etc_nginx_conf.d_mlflow.conf
# Redirect all HTTP requests to HTTPS
server {
listen 80;
server_name 10.100.11.26;
location _ {
return 301 https:__$host$request_uri;
}
}
# Main SSL-secured MLflow server block
server {
listen 443 ssl;
server_name mlflow.yourdomain.com;
ssl_certificate _usr_odp_3.3.6.2-1006_mlflow_cert.pem;
ssl_certificate_key _usr_odp_3.3.6.2-1006_mlflow_key.pem;
ssl_session_cache shared:SSL:10m;
ssl_session_timeout 10m;
ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
ssl_ciphers HIGH:!aNULL:!MD5;
location _ {
proxy_pass http:__10.100.11.26:5000;
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
}
}

1. Start and enable Nginx.

sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx
To verify Nginx is running:

sudo systemctl status nginx

1. Reload the configuration after any change.

sudo nginx -t # Validate config
sudo systemctl reload nginx

References

• NGINX Official Documentation
• NGINX SSL Configuration Guide