Image: Routing Requests by File Extension with NGINX
Published: January 10, 2026 at 8:35:18 PM UTC
Last updated: January 10, 2026 at 8:35:31 PM UTC
Learn how NGINX can route requests based on file extensions, illustrated with a simple diagram showing users, NGINX, and separate image and video servers.
Available versions of this image
Image description
The illustration is a wide, landscape-oriented infographic created for a technical blog post titled "Match Location Based on File Extension with NGINX". The overall color scheme is dark blue and teal, with subtle gradients and a faint world map pattern in the background to suggest global web traffic. At the very top, large, bold typography displays the headline, with the words "File Extension" and "NGINX" highlighted in green so they stand out from the rest of the title.
In the center of the composition is a stylized black server tower representing an NGINX server. It has glowing green indicator lights and a green circular badge with a white letter "N" on its front, making it immediately recognizable as the routing or control point of the system. The server is positioned slightly above the horizontal midpoint of the image so that it feels like the hub through which everything else flows.
On the left side of the server is a blue folder labeled "Images". Inside the folder are two generic document icons labeled "JPG" and "PNG", each with a small pictogram suggesting an image file. The folder sits on a pedestal labeled "Image Server", indicating that these file types are handled by a dedicated backend. A thick blue arrow points from the central NGINX server toward this image folder, visually explaining that image requests are routed in that direction.
On the right side is a matching orange folder labeled "Videos". Inside are two document icons labeled "MP4" and "AVI", each with a simple play-button style symbol. This folder rests on a pedestal labeled "Video Server". An orange arrow points from the central NGINX server to this folder, mirroring the left side and reinforcing the idea that different file extensions lead to different destinations.
Below the central server, near the bottom of the image, is a small globe with faint latitude and longitude lines, representing the internet or global users. In front of the globe are a laptop and a smartphone, together labeled "User Request". Dotted white and orange paths curve upward from the user devices to the central NGINX server, showing how incoming requests first reach NGINX before being routed onward.
In the far background, on the left edge, are tall racks of servers fading into darkness, adding a data-center atmosphere. On the right side, the world map motif continues, reinforcing the sense of scale and connectivity. The composition is clean and schematic, designed to be easy to understand at a glance without relying on exact configuration syntax. It visually communicates the core idea: user requests arrive at NGINX, which then sends image files to an image server and video files to a video server based on file extension matching.
The image is related to: Match Location Based on File Extension with NGINX