Nginx
Nginx is the reference web server and reverse proxy: event-driven, resource-efficient, built to handle thousands of simultaneous connections. It serves, routes, encrypts, and caches.
In practice
On our servers, it holds three roles: TLS termination with automatically renewed certificates, direct service of static files, and relay to Node applications. Its declarative configuration reads like a routing plan — every domain, every path, every header laid out in plain text.