Node.js is a powerful platform for creating fast and scalable network applications. Based on Google Chrome’s V8 engine, this technology allows using JavaScript on the server side, opening new possibilities for developers.

In today’s world, Node.js has become an integral part of the ecosystem, allowing developers to create everything from simple web servers to complex microservice architectures. Its event-driven architecture and non-blocking I/O make it particularly effective for real-time applications.

A significant advantage of Node.js is its huge developer community and rich ecosystem of npm (Node Package Manager) packages, which significantly accelerates the development process and implementation of new features.

Installing Node.js

Node.js can be installed in several ways. The simplest method is through the operating system’s standard repositories. This method is suitable for quick start and testing but may not provide the latest version of Node.js. Let’s examine the installation example for Ubuntu/Debian and CentOS OS.

During installation, two main components will be installed:

• Node.js – JavaScript runtime environment.
• npm (Node Package Manager) – package manager that allows installing additional modules.

sudo apt update

sudo apt install nodejs npm -y

node --version
npm --version

sudo yum update

sudo yum install epel-release

sudo yum install nodejs npm

node --version
npm --version

Installation through nvm (Node Version Manager) provides a more flexible approach to managing Node.js versions. This tool is particularly useful when You need to:

• Work with different projects requiring different Node.js versions.
• Test code on different Node.js versions.
• Easily upgrade to new versions.
• Avoid permission issues when installing global packages.

The nvm installation process includes the following steps:

1. Downloading the installation script.
2. Configuring environment variables.
3. Installing the required Node.js version.

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash

source ~/.bashrc

nvm list-remote

nvm install node

nvm install 22

nvm use 22

nvm alias default 22

sudo yum install curl git -y

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash

export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"
[ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"
[ -s "$NVM_DIR/bash_completion" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/bash_completion"

source ~/.bashrc

nvm --version

nvm install node

nvm install 22

Project Deployment

Web Server Configuration (Nginx)

For Node.js application in production, it is recommended to use a web server as a reverse proxy. There are several popular options:

• Nginx – lightweight and high-performance web server.
• Apache – reliable and time-tested web server.
• Caddy – modern web server with automatic HTTPS support.
• HAProxy – specialized load balancing solution.

In our example, we’ll look at configuring Nginx, as one of the most popular solutions.

sudo apt install nginx -y

sudo yum install nginx -y

Proxy configuration

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/your-app

Example Nginx configuration:

server {
    # Specify the port on which Nginx will listen for incoming connections
    listen 80;
    
    # Specify server domain name
    server_name your-domain.com;

    # Logging configuration
    # access_log - records all successful server requests
    access_log /var/log/nginx/your-app.access.log;
    # error_log - records errors and warnings
    error_log /var/log/nginx/your-app.error.log;

    location / {
        # Specify the address where Nginx will redirect requests
        # In this case to a local Node.js server on port 3000
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;

        # Specify HTTP protocol version
        proxy_http_version 1.1;

        # WebSocket support settings
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';

        # Pass original host in header
        proxy_set_header Host $host;

        # Disable caching
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
        
        # Timeout settings
        # Maximum time for establishing connection
        proxy_connect_timeout 60s;
        # Maximum time waiting to send data to client
        proxy_send_timeout 60s;
        # Maximum time waiting to read data from server
        proxy_read_timeout 60s;
    }
}

It’s important to understand key configuration points:

• Proxying allows the Node.js application to work on an internal port while Nginx handles all external requests.
• WebSocket settings are necessary for real-time functionality.
• Proper log configuration will help in debugging problems.
• Timeouts protect the server from hung connections.

Application Launch

After installing Node.js and configuring the web server, it’s necessary to ensure reliable launch and maintenance of Your application. For this, we’ll use PM2 – a process manager for Node.js applications.

PM2 provides the following capabilities:

• Automatic application restart after crashes.
• Resource and log monitoring.
• Load balancing.
• Environment variable management.
• Auto-start on server reboot.

Installing PM2:

sudo npm install -g pm2

Starting the application:

cd /path/to/your/app
pm2 start app.js

Setting up auto-start:

pm2 startup
pm2 save

pm2 start app.js --name "your-app"

pm2 stop "your-app"

pm2 restart "your-app"

pm2 logs "your-app"

pm2 monit

Conclusion

Node.js provides powerful tools for creating modern web applications. With proper configuration and maintenance, Your application will work stably and efficiently. Regular component updates and performance monitoring will help ensure the security and reliability of Your service.