Memcached is a high-performance, distributed memory caching system that can help improve the performance of your web applications. However, it is important to optimize and secure Memcached to ensure that it is working effectively and is not vulnerable to attacks.
In this blog post, we will discuss how to optimize and harden Memcached with NGINX and Ubuntu 22.04.
Step 1: Install Memcached
The first step is to install Memcached on your Ubuntu 22.04 server with NGINX. You can do this by running the following commands in your terminal:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install memcached
Step 2: Configure Memcached
Next, you need to configure Memcached to optimize its performance. You can do this by editing the configuration file at /etc/memcached.conf
. Here are some recommended settings:
-m
: sets the maximum amount of memory to allocate for Memcached.-c
: sets the maximum number of connections Memcached can handle.-l
: sets the IP address to bind Memcached to.-p
: sets the port number Memcached listens on.
Here is an example of what your configuration file might look like:
-m 512
-c 1024
-l 127.0.0.1
-p 11211
Step 3: Configure NGINX
Now you need to configure NGINX to use Memcached. You can do this by editing the configuration file at /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
. Here are the steps:
- Add the following code to the
http
block:
http {
...
# Add Memcached server
upstream memcached {
server 127.0.0.1:11211;
}
...
}
- Add the following code to the
server
block:
server {
...
# Enable Memcached caching
location / {
# Use Memcached caching
set $memcached_key $uri;
memcached_pass memcached;
default_type text/html;
# Set cache expiration time
expires 1h;
}
...
}
Step 4: Secure Memcached
It is important to secure Memcached to prevent unauthorized access and potential attacks. Here are some recommended security measures:
- Limit access to Memcached by binding it to the local IP address (
127.0.0.1
) and disabling remote access. - Use a strong, complex password for the Memcached user.
- Configure Memcached to use SASL authentication to further protect against unauthorized access.
- Regularly update Memcached and other software on your server to ensure that you are using the latest security patches.
By following these steps, you can optimize and harden Memcached with NGINX and Ubuntu 22.04 to improve the performance and security of your web applications.