Nginx stub_status module

Like the Apache mod_status module, Nginx also has a module that can provide you with realtime data regarding its stats. While its not as detailed as Apache mod_status, the data is still useful, especially if you are using Nginx as a load balancer.

First, confirm that Nginx was compiled with the HttpStudStatusModule. If you installed this via yum or apt-get, it should have it:

[root@web01 ~]# nginx -V 2>&1 | grep -o with-http_stub_status_module
with-http_stub_status_module

To enable the module, set the following configuration:

[root@web01 ~]# vim /etc/nginx/conf.d/nginx_status.conf
server {

    listen 80 default_server;
    access_log off;
    server_name _;
    server_name_in_redirect off;
    root  /var/www/html;

        location /nginx_status {
                # Enable Nginx stats
                stub_status on;
                # Disable logging for stats
                access_log   off;
                # Security: Only allow access from authorized IP's
                allow 127.0.0.1;
                allow 192.168.1.100;
                # Deny everyone else
                deny all;
        }

}

Now navigate your browser to:

http://serverip/nginx_status

The results will look something like this:

Active connections: 1 
server accepts handled requests
 1 1 1 
Reading: 0 Writing: 1 Waiting: 0

Here is what these numbers mean, taken directly from Nginx’s documentation:

# Active connections
The current number of active client connections including Waiting connections.

# accepts
The total number of accepted client connections.

# handled
The total number of handled connections. Generally, the parameter value is the same as accepts unless some resource limits have been reached (for example, the worker_connections limit).

# requests
The total number of client requests.

# Reading
The current number of connections where nginx is reading the request header.

# Writing
The current number of connections where nginx is writing the response back to the client.

# Waiting
The current number of idle client connections waiting for a request.