NGINX - Return 301 vs Rewrite

Question

I use NGINX in my dedicated server.

I've a question, with the return and rewrite 301.

---

Rewrite 301:

rewrite ^ http://xxx.xxxxx.net/xx-xxx/$request_uri? permanent;

Return 301:

location ~ redirect-this/?$ {
    return 301 http://xxx.xxxxx.net/xx-xxx/redirect-this$1;
}

---

All redirect correctly to the URL requested. But..

Which is more effective method, to make a 301 redirect?

I've more of 200 url to redirect. So, what you recommend?

Answer 1

As stated in the nginx pitfalls you should use server blocks and return statements as they're way faster than evaluating RegEx via location blocks.

Since you're forcing the rewrite rule to send a 301 there's no difference when it comes to SEO, btw..