HTTPS for nginx on Ubuntu 18.04 with DNS records not hosted on DigitalOcean

Posted June 5, 2020
Nginx Ubuntu 18.04 DigitalOcean DNS

I would like my droplet to serve HTTPS via Nginx, but I don’t want the DNS records hosted by DigitalOcean. The reason is that I have a complicated set of DNS records at my domain registrar, and I’m certain something will break if I try to move them. (Especially because my grip on the various record types is tenuous.)

The standard HTTPS-on-Ubuntu18.04 tutorial implies that DNS hosting on DigitalOcean is required, but doesn’t come out and say it.

https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-secure-nginx-with-let-s-encrypt-on-ubuntu-18-04

So, my questions are:

(1) If I follow the simple tutorial, and keep the DNS records at the registrar, will my site serve HTTPS and will it successfully do the auto-renews?

(2) If the answer to (1) is no, is there another tutorial I can follow to set up HTTPS for Nginx on Ubuntu while keeping the DNS records at the registrar?

Thank you, John

benferilliniti

benferilliniti • June 5, 2020

Wait – it’s Ubuntu 16.04. My apologies. So that would be this tutorial: https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-secure-nginx-with-let-s-encrypt-on-ubuntu-16-04

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KFSys • June 6, 2020

Hi @benferilliniti,

Following the mentioned tutorial should be fine as long as you have both your root and www. domain pointed to your droplet. The tutorial doesn’t actually require fo your DNS to be hosted with DigitalOcean, it only needs for your domain to be pinging.

Having said that, you can follow the tutorial without any concerns: