# SSL setup directions for nginx yield an error

**URL:** <https://forums.suse.com/t/ssl-setup-directions-for-nginx-yield-an-error/5373>\
**Category:** General\
**Created:** [January 31, 2017, 9:56pm UTC](https://forums.suse.com/t/ssl-setup-directions-for-nginx-yield-an-error/5373 "2017-01-31T21:56:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ryanwalls](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/forums.suse.com/ryanwalls/32/2762_2.png) [@ryanwalls](https://forums.suse.com/u/ryanwalls)\
**Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 9:56pm UTC](https://forums.suse.com/t/ssl-setup-directions-for-nginx-yield-an-error/5373/1 "2017-01-31T21:56:51Z")

</div>

Following these directions: [https://docs.rancher.com/rancher/v1.3/en/installing-rancher/installing-server/basic-ssl-config/#example-nginx-configuration](https://docs.rancher.com/rancher/v1.3/en/installing-rancher/installing-server/basic-ssl-config/#example-nginx-configuration) I get an error that says:

```auto
nginx: [emerg] "upstream" directive is not allowed here in /etc/nginx/nginx.conf:1

```

Any ideas?

Here’s my config running on nginx 1.11:

```auto
upstream target {
    server rancher-server:8080;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl spdy;
    server_name my-server;
    ssl_certificate /var/nginx/3dsim.crt;
    ssl_certificate_key /var/nginx/3dsim.key;

    location / {
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Port $server_port;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_pass http://target;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "Upgrade";
        # This allows the ability for the execute shell window to remain open for up to 15 minutes. Without this parameter, the default is 1 minute and will automatically close.
        proxy_read_timeout 900s;
    }
}

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name my-server;
    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![mister2d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc348/32.png) [@mister2d](https://forums.suse.com/u/mister2d)\
**Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 10:23pm UTC](https://forums.suse.com/t/ssl-setup-directions-for-nginx-yield-an-error/5373/2 "2017-01-31T22:23:37Z")

</div>

“upstream” isn’t allowed in that part of config. From the documentation it appears to be allowed within the `http { }` block.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ryanwalls](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/forums.suse.com/ryanwalls/32/2762_2.png) [@ryanwalls](https://forums.suse.com/u/ryanwalls)\
**Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 10:49pm UTC](https://forums.suse.com/t/ssl-setup-directions-for-nginx-yield-an-error/5373/3 "2017-01-31T22:49:58Z")

</div>

Thanks. I ended up making everything work with this config:

```auto
user nginx;
worker_processes 1;

error_log /var/log/nginx/error.log warn;
pid /var/run/nginx.pid;

events {
    worker_connections 1024;
}

http {
  upstream target {
      server rancher-server:8080;
  }

  server {
      listen 443 ssl spdy;
      server_name my-server.com;
      ssl_certificate /var/nginx/3dsim.crt;
      ssl_certificate_key /var/nginx/3dsim.key;

      location / {
          proxy_set_header Host $host;
          proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
          proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Port $server_port;
          proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
          proxy_pass http://target;
          proxy_http_version 1.1;
          proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
          proxy_set_header Connection "Upgrade";
          # This allows the ability for the execute shell window to remain open for up to 15 minutes. Without this parameter, the default is 1 minute and will automatically close.
          proxy_read_timeout 900s;
      }
  }

  server {
      listen 80;
      server_name my-server.com;
      return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
  }
}

```

The docs could be a little clearer that it really isn’t the “Minimum configuration” needed to run nginx. It’s a partial configuration. Will try to get a PR sent in for the docs.