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LABBEGINNER

HTTP/HTTPS and Web Server Fundamentals Lab

Master HTTP protocols, web server configuration, and HTTPS security with hands-on Nginx deployment and testing.

120 minutes
platform-engineering/networking
HTTP/HTTPS and Web Server Fundamentals Lab - Platform Engineering Hands-On Lab Icon

Lab Overview

In this hands-on lab, you'll learn HTTP protocol fundamentals by building and testing a web server with Nginx. You'll practice HTTP methods, understand status codes and headers, and implement HTTPS security with SSL/TLS certificates.

You'll use curl to test different HTTP methods, analyze request/response headers, create a simple Flask API, and configure SSL certificates for encrypted communication.

By the end of this lab, you'll understand:

  • HTTP protocol basics (requests, responses, methods, status codes)
  • HTTP headers and their purposes
  • Testing APIs with curl flags and options
  • Nginx web server configuration
  • SSL/TLS certificate generation and installation
  • HTTP vs HTTPS security differences
  • Debugging common HTTP errors

What You'll Learn

Configure nginx as a web server and reverse proxy for application backends

Generate and install TLS certificates to enable HTTPS with proper cipher configuration

Set up HTTP to HTTPS redirection and configure security headers

Test and validate TLS configuration using curl and SSL testing tools

Prerequisites

linux command line proficiency

basic networking knowledge (Week 4 IP/DNS)

understanding of client-server architecture

Technologies Covered

httphttpsnginxssltlsweb-serversecuritycurlapi-testing

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