Massed Compute

Need to serve static files fast? This guide walks you through deploying a production-ready Nginx static file server on Ubuntu. You’ll get automatic gzip compression for text content, sensible cache headers for assets, and performance tuning based on your VM size.

Perfect for hosting React/Vue builds, documentation sites, asset CDNs, or download servers. The setup includes directory browsing options and SPA-friendly routing configuration.

Massed Compute VM Pricing

All SKUs below meet the minimum requirements for this deployment:

Step-by-Step Deployment

ssh ubuntu@YOUR_VM_IP

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y nginx

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/html
echo "<h1>It works.</h1>" | sudo tee /var/www/html/index.html

sudo tee /etc/nginx/sites-available/static <<EOF
server {
    listen 80 default_server;
    listen [::]:80 default_server;

    root /var/www/html;
    index index.html index.htm;

    # Cache common static assets aggressively
    location ~* \.(js|css|png|jpg|jpeg|gif|ico|svg|woff|woff2|ttf|eot)$ {
        expires 7d;
        add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
    }

    location / {
        try_files \$uri \$uri/ =404;
    }
}
EOF

sudo tee /etc/nginx/conf.d/gzip.conf <<EOF
gzip_types text/plain text/css text/xml application/json application/javascript application/xml application/xml+rss text/javascript image/svg+xml;
gzip_min_length 1024;
gzip_vary on;
EOF

sudo ln -sf /etc/nginx/sites-available/static /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/static
sudo rm -f /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default

sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

sudo systemctl is-active nginx
ss -ltnp | grep ':80 '
curl -sS -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}\n" http://127.0.0.1/

Performance Tuning by SKU

For larger VMs, optimize Nginx’s worker settings based on your SKU class:

Edit /etc/nginx/nginx.conf to apply worker settings, then reload with sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx.

Troubleshooting

Configuration Issues

• “duplicate listen” or “default_server already in use”: Another site config still has listen 80 default_server. Check grep -r "default_server" /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/ and remove conflicting files.
• 404 for everything: Document root is empty or path is wrong. Verify with ls -la /var/www/html.
• 403 Forbidden: Permission issue. Run namei -l /var/www/html/index.html and fix directory permissions.

Feature Additions

• Want directory browsing: Add autoindex on; inside the location / block.
• Hosting a React/Vue/Svelte SPA: Replace try_files $uri $uri/ =404; with try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html; for client-side routing.
• Want HTTPS: See our SSL certificate guide for adding TLS termination.

Skip All of This: Deploy with an AI Agent

This entire guide exists as a tested, machine-readable recipe in the Massed Compute MCP. Instead of running commands manually, connect an AI agent and deploy with natural language.

Add this to your MCP client configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "massed-compute": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://vm.massedcompute.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer MC_TOKEN" }
    }
  }
}

Then say:

The agent will match your request against the recipe catalog (last tested on June 2, 2026), provision the right VM shape, run the setup and verification steps above, and report back with the server IP and status. If any step fails, it stops and provides troubleshooting information.

Quick Setup Reference

For experienced users, here’s the condensed setup:

# Install and configure
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y nginx
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/html
echo "<h1>It works.</h1>" | sudo tee /var/www/html/index.html

# Create site config
sudo tee /etc/nginx/sites-available/static <<'EOF'
server {
    listen 80 default_server;
    listen [::]:80 default_server;
    root /var/www/html;
    index index.html index.htm;
    
    location ~* \.(js|css|png|jpg|jpeg|gif|ico|svg|woff|woff2|ttf|eot)$ {
        expires 7d;
        add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
    }
    
    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }
}
EOF

# Configure gzip
sudo tee /etc/nginx/conf.d/gzip.conf <<'EOF'
gzip_types text/plain text/css text/xml application/json application/javascript application/xml application/xml+rss text/javascript image/svg+xml;
gzip_min_length 1024;
gzip_vary on;
EOF

# Enable site
sudo ln -sf /etc/nginx/sites-available/static /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/static
sudo rm -f /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx

Frequently Asked Questions