Nginx can proxy HTTP requests to backend through the proxy module
directiveshttp://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_proxy_module.html
..

If your backend is able to handle those requests on its own (ie if it is
able to handle connections without any webserver), then make nginx as a
load-balancer directly talk with it.
If your Web applications need support from a webserver, you could use any
(nginx being one of the best) to talk with the frontend.

Hope I helped,
---
*B. R.*
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