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HTTP/3 is the latest version of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) that offers improvements in speed and security for web communication. Utilizing the QUIC transport protocol, HTTP/3 reduces connection latency by eliminating several rounds of message exchanges required to establish a connection. For web server administrators using Nginx on CentOS 7, upgrading to HTTP/3 is crucial for enhancing the performance and security of their websites. This article provides step-by-step instructions for configuring Nginx with HTTP/3 support on CentOS 7.

Prerequisites

Before starting the installation and configuration process, ensure your system meets the following requirements:

• CentOS 7 with root access
• Nginx installed (latest stable version recommended)
• SSL/TLS certificate (you can use Let's Encrypt for a free certificate)

Step 1: Install Dependencies

Before configuring Nginx to use HTTP/3, you need to install necessary dependencies. QUIC and HTTP/3 require the OpenSSL library with QUIC support. On CentOS 7, compiling OpenSSL from sources with QUIC support may be necessary.

1. Install compilation tools and Git:

   yum install -y git gcc make pcre-devel zlib-devel
   

2. Clone the OpenSSL with QUIC support from GitHub and compile it:

   git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/quictls/openssl.git
   cd openssl
   ./config enable-tls1_3 --prefix=/usr/local/ssl --openssldir=/usr/local/ssl shared zlib
   make && make install
   

 

Step 2: Install and Configure Nginx

Since the official Nginx packages currently do not support HTTP/3, you will need to compile Nginx from source code with QUIC and HTTP/3 support.

1. Download the latest stable version of Nginx and the corresponding patch for HTTP/3:

   wget http://nginx.org/download/nginx-1.20.0.tar.gz
   tar zxvf nginx-1.20.0.tar.gz
   cd nginx-1.20.0
   

2. Apply the HTTP/3 patch and configure Nginx:

   git apply ../path/to/http3/patch
   ./configure --with-openssl=/path/to/your/openssl --with-openssl-opt=enable-tls1_3 --with-http_v3_module --with-stream_quic_module
   make
   make install
   

 

Step 3: Configure Nginx to Use HTTP/3

After installing Nginx with HTTP/3 support, you need to modify the configuration file to enable HTTP/3.

1. Open the main Nginx configuration file (/usr/local/nginx/conf/nginx.conf) and add listen 443 ssl http3; to the server block for your domain name.

2. Ensure the SSL/TLS configuration is properly set up, including the paths to your SSL certificates.

Step 4: Restart Nginx

After configuring Nginx, restart the service to apply the changes:

systemctl restart nginx

By configuring Nginx on CentOS 7 to use HTTP/3, you will improve the speed and security of your websites. Thanks to the reduced latency and increased security provided by HTTP/3, your websites will be more accessible and resilient against attacks. Remember to regularly update your systems and software to maintain these benefits.