how to put nodejs and apache in the same port 80

Question

I have to put nodejs in port 80, but apache is already using it. How can I put both (nodejs and apache) on the same port 80? I need it because in my university all the ports are blocked except for PORT 80. (This is a realtime application with nodejs and socket.io (websockets) and in the other side a php application). Thanks a lot

Answer 1

I do this via node.js proxy..

Install http-proxy with npm or official page

Example:

var http = require('http'),
httpProxy = require('http-proxy'),
proxyServer = httpProxy.createServer ({
    hostnameOnly: true,
    router: {
        'domain.com':       '127.0.0.1:81',
        'domain.co.uk':     '127.0.0.1:82',
        '127.0.0.1':        '127.0.0.1:83'
    }
});

proxyServer.listen(80);

This creates a node process listening to port 80, and forwarding requests for domains which go to :81,82,83 etc. I recommend running this with forever and adding an entry to init.d so your proxy is up in case system shuts down.

Answer 2

You can also use Apache 2's mod_proxy and mod_proxy_http, which might be more reliable or perform better depending on your system.

Here's an example:

Firstly run below command to proxy to allow

sudo a2enmod proxy
sudo a2enmod proxy_http
sudo a2enmod proxy_balancer
sudo a2enmod proxy_balancer
sudo a2enmod lbmethod_byrequests

# Use Apache for requests to http://example.com/
# but use Node.js for requests to http://example.com/node/
<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName example.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/example/
    <Location /node>
        ProxyPass http://127.0.0.1:8124/
        ProxyPassReverse http://127.0.0.1:8124/
    </Location>
</VirtualHost>

And of course you can modify the directives to your needs, such as using a different port for your virtual host (e.g., 443), different port for Node.js, or set up the proxy under a different block, such as for a subdomain (e.g., node.example.com).

Answer 3

I've personally done this the other way round from @liammclennan. Some suggest that proxying through Apache defeats some of the performance and scalability advantages of Node (don't have experience myself as my server doesn't get that much traffic, but from @liammclennan's link: "Every request that comes in through Apache will cause an Apache thread to wait/block until the response is returned from your Node.js process.", which obviously doesn't mesh well with Node's architecture.)

I used node-http-proxy to set up a Node proxy server roughly as described in the first link (my Node proxy runs on port 80; Apache and my other Node services don't). Seems to be working well so far, though I have had occasional stability problems that I've 'solved' through checking the proxy's still running with a cron job (edit: it seems a lot more stable these days). The proxy's pretty lightweight, taking up about 30MB memory.

Answer 4

You can't. You have to run node.js on another port and then proxy requests through apache. You can do this using mod_proxy

http://davybrion.com/blog/2012/01/hosting-a-node-js-site-through-apache/

Answer 5

I usually use haproxy as the front-end in situations like that and have that proxy to the appropriate backend server. (Though making your node.js process a proxy server is a valid approach too depending on your needs).

Answer 6

I found a cool gist Run apache and nodejs on port 80. did not try it yet but will do of course

Step 1

Get a VPS that offers 2 or more IP addresses.

Step 2

From the WHM cPanel, find the menu item Service Configuration, select Apache Configuration and then click on Reserved IPs Editor.

Step 3

Tick the IP address you DON'T WANT Apache to listen to, and write it down so you can use it in the next step. Click Save.

Step 4

Install Node.js, and create a server like this:

var http = require('http');

var server = http.createServer(function(req, res) {
  res.writeHead(200);
  res.end('Hello, world!');
});

server.listen(80, '111.111.111.111');

Replacing 111.111.111.111 with the IP address you previously reserved from the WHM cPanel.

Step 5

Stop wasting your time and never listen to those telling you to use mod_rewrite to proxy Node.js again.

Update:

We can solve a problem in many different ways and IMHO, we should at least know each possible way 😉. We can do it without buying a new IP of course putting a proxy in front of both Apache and NodeJS server each running other ports except 80.