In this guide, we’ll deploy a FastAPI application using Uvicorn behind an Nginx reverse proxy on an Oracle Cloud Ubuntu VM. This is ideal for production deployments where speed, scalability, and stability are essential.

Stage 1: Oracle Cloud Account & Virtual Machine (VM) Setup

  1. Create an Oracle Cloud Account
    Sign up at https://cloud.oracle.com
  2. Create a Compute Instance
    Go to: Dashboard → Compute → Instances → Create Instance
  3. Name Your Instance
    Example: dydevopsapp
  4. Choose OS Image
    Select Ubuntu 22.04
  5. Select Shape
    Choose VM.Standard.A1.Flex (select 4 OCPUs and 24GB RAM — included in free tier)
  6. Add SSH Key
    Paste your SSH Public Key (generate with ssh-keygen or PuTTYgen)
  7. Create Instance
    Click Create and wait for the provisioning to finish.
  8. Note Public IP Address
    This will be used to SSH and access the server via browser.

Server Configuration (Oracle Cloud)

  • OS: Ubuntu 22.04
  • Shape: VM.Standard.A1.Flex (4 OCPUs, 24 GB RAM, 4 Gbps)
  • Public IP: 140.245.99.185
  • Username: ubuntu
  • Hostname: dydevopsapp

Stage 2: Install and Configure Nginx

  •  Open Terminal (Mac/Linux) or PuTTY (Windows)
  • Run: ssh ubuntu@<your-public-ip>

Update and Install Nginx

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install nginx -y

To check which UFW profiles are available, run:

sudo ufw app list

Output:

Available applications:
  Nginx Full
  Nginx HTTP
  Nginx HTTPS
  OpenSSH

Enable this by running the following:

sudo ufw allow 'Nginx HTTP'

You can verify the change by checking the status:

sudo ufw status

This output displays that HTTP traffic is now allowed:

Output:

Status: active
To                         Action      From
--                         ------      ----
OpenSSH                    ALLOW       Anywhere
Nginx HTTP                 ALLOW       Anywhere
OpenSSH (v6)               ALLOW       Anywhere (v6)
Nginx HTTP (v6)            ALLOW       Anywhere (v6)

 If UFW is inactive:
Status: inactive

Configure Firewall (UFW)

sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'
sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw reload

Verify:

sudo ufw status

server’s public IP address, you can find it by running either of the following commands:

ip addr show
hostname -I

As an alternative, you can check which IP address is accessible, as viewed from other locations on the internet:

curl -4 icanhazip.com

Write the address that you receive in your web browser and it will take you to Nginx’s default landing page:

Check Nginx Service

Run this on your server:

sudo systemctl status nginx

✅ If active (running) → Good.
❌ If not running:

sudo systemctl restart nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

Test Nginx

sudo systemctl restart nginx
sudo systemctl status nginx

Access your instance via:

Visit: http://<your_public_ip> in your browser
http:// — You should see the Nginx Welcome Page ????

Stage 2.5: Update Ubuntu Firewall (UFW)

If you haven’t already, it’s critical to configure your server's firewall to allow HTTP and HTTPS traffic.

Allow HTTP and HTTPS Traffic

sudo ufw allow 80/tcp    # Allow HTTP traffic on port 80
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp   # Allow HTTPS traffic on port 443

Reload UFW

sudo ufw reload

Verify UFW Status

sudo ufw status

Example Output:

Status: active

Restart Nginx

sudo systemctl restart nginx

Test Access

Visit: http://<your_public_ip>

You should see the Nginx Welcome Page, confirming that Nginx is live and firewall rules are working correctly.

Check Port 80 is Listening

sudo ss -tuln | grep :80

You should see:
LISTEN 0 511 *:80 *:*
Check the Default Nginx Page Exists

ls /var/www/html/index.nginx-debian.html

Reboot (Optional)

Sometimes restarting helps apply settings:

sudo reboot

Stage 3: Install Essential Tools

sudo apt install python3-pip git unzip python3-venv -y

Stage 4: Set Up FastAPI Project

Create Project Directory

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/dydevops
sudo chown $USER:$USER /var/www/dydevops
cd /var/www/dydevops

Create Virtual Environment and Install Dependencies

python3 -m venv fstv
source fstv/bin/activate
pip install fastapi uvicorn jinja2 aiofiles sqlalchemy mysql-connector-python python-multipart python-slugify

Create a Basic FastAPI App (main.py)

 

from fastapi import FastAPI
app = FastAPI()
@app.get("/")
def read_root():
   return {"message": "FastAPI is live!"}

Run the App

uvicorn main:app --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8000

Or in background:

nohup uvicorn main:app --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8000 &

Stage 5: Create a Systemd Service for FastAPI

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/dydevops.service

Paste:

[Unit]
Description=FastAPI Blog with Uvicorn
After=network.target

[Service]
User=ubuntu
WorkingDirectory=/var/www/dydevops
ExecStart=/var/www/dydevops/fstv/bin/uvicorn main:app --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8000
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable the service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reexec
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl start dydevops
sudo systemctl enable dydevops
sudo systemctl status dydevops

Stage 6: Configure Nginx Reverse Proxy

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/dydevops

Paste:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name 140.245.99.185;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    }
}

Enable site and restart Nginx:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/dydevops /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Configure UFW Firewall

Enable HTTP/HTTPS and test port:

sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw allow 8000/tcp
sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw reload
sudo ufw status

Final Checklist

  • Access app: http://<your_public_ip>
  • Service status: sudo systemctl status dydevops
  • Port check: sudo ss -tuln | grep :80
  • Firewall: sudo ufw status
  • Reboot if needed: sudo reboot

You're Done!

Your FastAPI app is now live and production-ready on Oracle Ubuntu with Nginx as a reverse proxy.

Tags:

FastAPI Oracle Python