What role does the Nginx server play in the architecture of web applications?

Nginx in web application architecture typically acts as a reverse proxy server and load balancer. It accepts incoming HTTP requests from clients and distributes them among multiple application instances, ensuring high availability and scalability. Additionally, Nginx can perform caching of static content, SSL termination, data compression, and protection against certain types of attacks. For example, in a Python application, Nginx is often placed in front of Gunicorn or uWSGI to efficiently handle connections and improve performance.