Using socket.io with nodejs on a server with apache as a reverse proxy

Question

I\'m attempting to use Node.js with Socket.IO to faciliate messaging between the browser and client, following the guide.

However, I had to setup Node reverse-proxie

Answer 1

This ended up being a multi-pronged solutions.

First, on the server end of things, I had to set up the endpoints like this

var io = require('socket.io').listen(8080);

var rootSockets = io.of('/nodejs').on('connection', function(socket)
{
  // stuff
});

var otherSockets = io.of('nodejs/other').on('connection', function(socket)
{
  // stuff
});

Then, on the client-side, to properly connect looks like this

var socket = io.connect(
    'http://example.com/nodejs/'
  , {resource: 'nodejs/socket.io'}
);

// The usage of .of() is important
socket.of('/nodejs').on( 'event', function(){} );
socket.of('/nodejs/other').on( 'event', function(){} );

After this, it all worked. Remember, on this server Apache is proxying example.com/nodejs to port 8080 internally.

Answer 2

I don't think this has anything to do with your apache proxy, but some 'quirks' with how socket.io handles requests on a sub-directory. See my answer here. NGINX configuration to work with Socket.IO

Basically, you need to use this connect statement instead:

var socket = io.connect('http://example.com', {resource:'nodejs/socket.io'});

Answer 3

If anybody is interested, only this worked for me. Replace port 3000 with your Nodejs port

Apache 2.2.14 inside your VirtualHost

    <IfModule mod_proxy.c>
      <Proxy *>
        Order allow,deny
        allow from all
      </Proxy>
    </IfModule>

    RewriteEngine on

    RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} transport=polling
    RewriteRule /(.*)$ http://localhost:3001/$1 [P]

    ProxyRequests off
    ProxyPass /socket.io/ ws://localhost:3001/socket.io/
    ProxyPassReverse /socket.io/ ws://localhost:3001/socket.io/

Client side connection:

  var myIoSocket = io.connect($location.protocol() + '://' + $location.host(), {path: '/socket.io'});

No need to change anything on Node.js side.