nginx Ubuntu nodeJs - Server only handles requests from local network

Question

I followed all kinds of instructions all day to get my first server up and running. I tested it on 3 devices and thought I had it... until my friend tried it and discovered "site can't be reached."

In double-checking on my end, I found that if I disconnected my phone from wi-fi, sure enough, I couldn't reach my server.

I realize there could be a million things wrong, but I don't know where to start. I am not even sure what additional information I should include to help find the issue. If I had to guess, I'd say I failed to open the firewall on my server port 80. But I really have no clue. Ubuntu is new to me.

Answer 1

Can you include details about your setup? How is the Ubuntu server configured? If it's your own hardware, have you forwarded the ports on your router? Do you have a Dynamic DNS server in place? Is there an internal firewall (ufw?). Is the Node.js server bound to the loopback? Is Nginx in proxy_pass mode?

As mentioned by the OP, the ports weren't forwarded.