NGINX Web Server (Hardened) — documentation & support card

At a glance

Type	Hardened VM image
Upstream / license	NGINX (BSD-2-Clause) — see licenses
Version	NGINX 1.28 line (AWS image); distro-current on GCE. Exact image version: see the listing. Current builds: release notes.
Architecture	x86-64
Sizing	Any current-generation instance with ≥ 4 vCPU (pay-as-you-go floor); 8 vCPU recommended for production.

Marketplaces

• AWS Marketplace — view listing (base: Amazon Linux 2023)
• Google Cloud Marketplace — listing in publication (solution validated 2026-07-22) (base: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS)

Network ports

Port	Purpose	State
22	SSH (key-only)	default-open
80	HTTP	default-open
443	HTTPS	default-open

"customer-must-open" means a cloud firewall rule and, where noted, an in-image configuration change — both deliberate. Closed by default is the design.

Access & credentials

No shared or default credentials are included in this image. Access uses the SSH key you supply at launch; any application credential is generated uniquely on your instance at first boot and stored only there — we never know it.

Log in: SSH with the key pair you selected at launch (user `ec2-user` on AWS, your OS Login identity on GCP).

This product has no application credential of its own.

Data & dependencies

• Data locations: /usr/share/nginx/html (content), /etc/nginx/ (configuration) — all data stays on your instance and volumes.
• Does any data leave your tenant? No. Telemetry: none. Our images contain no phone-home, no usage beacons, no license servers. The only parties that know you deployed our software are you and your cloud provider's billing system.
• We have no access to your deployment. Your instance runs in your tenancy under your IAM; remote access for a support session exists only if you explicitly grant it, and you can revoke it at any time.
• External dependencies at deploy/runtime: None — the image is fully self-contained at deploy time; no internet access is required to boot and run.

Operate

• First boot: Service is enabled at build; nginx serves immediately on first boot. No credential generation.
• Update / patch: Replace the instance with the newest image version from the listing (recommended; images rebuild at least monthly), or `dnf update nginx` / `apt upgrade nginx` in place between image refreshes.
• Backup / restore: Content and config are plain files — back up /usr/share/nginx/html and /etc/nginx with your volume snapshots or any file backup.
• Uninstall: delete the VM/deployment and its volumes — nothing else persists, and software billing stops with the instance under your cloud's marketplace terms.
• Logs: /var/log/nginx/access.log, /var/log/nginx/error.log; `journalctl -u nginx -f`
• Health check: curl -fsS http://127.0.0.1/ (returns the default page)

Known limitations

Single-node web server image; TLS certificates are yours to provision (certbot works out of the box).

Support

Email support@dcassociatesgroup.com — first response within 1 business day (US Eastern), most tickets same-day. To escalate an open ticket, reply "ESCALATE"; it is reviewed by the founder within 1 business day. Security reports: vulnerability disclosure.

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