NGINX is a widely-used web server and reverse proxy that powers some of the most high-traffic websites on the internet. It is known for its speed, reliability, and versatility. As web applications become increasingly complex, developers are turning to new programming languages like Rust to build faster and more secure web servers.
If you have built a Rust library and are looking to integrate it with NGINX, you may be wondering how to hook it into the server. Traditionally, NGINX modules are compiled statically as part of the compilation of NGINX as a whole. However, since NGINX 1.9.11, the server has supported dynamic modules, which are compiled separately and then loaded using the load_module directive in the nginx.conf file.
This is where the Rust library comes in. By compiling the library separately, it can be loaded at the time NGINX starts up, without having to be included in the main NGINX compilation. However, finding the right format so that the necessary symbols could be found from the documentation was tricky.
To start, you'll need to build your Rust library. Once it has been built, you can hook it into NGINX using dynamic modules. The first step is to ensure that your version of NGINX supports dynamic modules. Since NGINX 1.9.11, the server has supported dynamic modules, which are compiled separately and then loaded using the load_module directive in the nginx.conf file.
The next step is to compile the Rust library as a dynamic library. This can be done using the -C prefer-dynamic flag, which tells Rust to compile the library as a dynamic library rather than a static library. This will create a shared object file that can be loaded into NGINX at runtime.
Once the Rust library has been compiled as a dynamic library, it can be loaded into NGINX using the load_module directive in the nginx.conf file. This directive specifies the path to the shared object file, as well as any additional configuration that may be required.
It is worth noting that finding the right format for the necessary symbols can be tricky. However, by keeping things neat and loading the metadata as part of the module, this can be avoided. Thankfully, it doesn’t take much spelunking through the NGINX codebase to find where dlopen is called.
In conclusion, integrating Rust libraries with NGINX can seem daunting at first, but with dynamic modules, it is a relatively straightforward process. By compiling the Rust library separately and loading it at runtime, developers can build faster and more secure web servers. Dynamic modules also allow for greater flexibility and ease of maintenance, making NGINX an attractive option for modern web applications.
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