Feature lingering_close in Nginx

Introduction to the lingering_close feature in Nginx

The lingering_close feature in Nginx is one of the interesting features in the ngx_http_core_module module that helps manage the way connections are terminated. This feature is specifically designed to improve user experience and prevent abrupt disconnections.

When a website uses Nginx as a web server, users may unexpectedly terminate their connection. In these scenarios, web services must manage connections effectively to avoid issues such as lost data or incomplete responses.

The feature lingering_close means that when a connection is closed abruptly, Nginx can keep the connection alive for a short period, allowing it to send remaining data or even let the client receive the remaining data. This process helps to prevent data loss and ensures that responses are sent correctly to clients.

Configuring this feature in the Nginx configuration file is very simple and can be done based on the needs of a website. These configurations can be performed in an http block or server block, depending on how you want to implement the settings.

Code Example

# Configure lingering_close in Nginx
http {
    lingering_close on;
    # You can also configure it locally in a server block
}

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;
    lingering_close on;
}

Code Explanation

# Configure lingering_close in Nginx
This line starts a configuration block http in Nginx.

http {
This line indicates the beginning of the http section where you can configure settings related to HTTP.

lingering_close on;
This line activates the lingering_close feature. When a client abruptly terminates the connection, Nginx will keep the connection alive for a short period.

server {
This line indicates the beginning of the configurations related to a specific server.

listen 80;
In this line, port 80 is activated for the server which is used for standard HTTP traffic.

server_name example.com;
In this line, the server domain name is specified, which in this example is example.com.

lingering_close on;
This line again activates the lingering_close feature for this specific server.