Nginx is not a web server. Nginx is a reverse-proxy.<p>Nginx&#x27;s sees a massive share of its usage as a web server, sure, but – from the very beginning – it was always intended to be a good reverse-proxy.<p>Apart from http, nginx also supports mail (imap, pop3, smtp), stream sockets (tcp and unix), and few third-party ones too (like rtmp). And now, UDP as well.<p>One of most needed features expected of a good reverse-proxy is load-balancing. Nginx is already quite good at it, but lacked UDP load balancing (like HAproxy – another reverse-proxy – does). That is no longer the case, and I&#x27;m sure the people that have asked HAproxy to support UDP will be pleased that nginx does it now.