Скачать или смотреть Solving Nginx Proxy + NodeJS WebSocket Issues: What Will Fix Your 17KB Message Limit?

Discover how to effectively tackle message limits in Nginx and NodeJS WebSocket setups. Learn about troubleshooting techniques and solutions to improve message delivery without facing packet loss.
---
This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/64624023/ asked by the user 'Oscar Zarrus' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/2327061/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/64634691/ provided by the user 'Oscar Zarrus' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/2327061/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

Visit these links for original content and any more details, such as alternate solutions, latest updates/developments on topic, comments, revision history etc. For example, the original title of the Question was: Nginx Proxy + NodeJS WebSocket + 17KB messages. No traffic. Who is the culprit?

Also, Content (except music) licensed under CC BY-SA https://meta.stackexchange.com/help/l...
The original Question post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license, and the original Answer post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license.

If anything seems off to you, please feel free to write me at vlogize [AT] gmail [DOT] com.
---
Solving Nginx Proxy + NodeJS WebSocket Issues: What Will Fix Your 17KB Message Limit?

In the world of web development, WebSocket connections enable seamless communication between clients and servers. However, developers can face frustrating issues, especially when dealing with larger message sizes. One pertinent question is: "Why are WebSocket messages over 17KB causing communication loss between my GoLang app and NodeJS server through Nginx?" This guide will explore this issue and share the ultimate solution to overcome the message limit woes with practical steps.

The Problem

The primary goal of many developers using WebSockets is to facilitate the real-time transfer of substantial data. In this case, the developer wanted to transfer 2/3 MB of data efficiently. However, any messages exceeding 17KB would lead to communication loss, specifically causing the tunnel to drop messages when sent from A to B. While the tunnel itself would remain active, further message retransmission was impossible without restarting it.

Key Observations:

Messages sent as chunks of 1000 bytes dropped after the 17th chunk.

Wireshark analysis indicated normal packet flow on the Go app side.

Yet, NodeJS websocket logs showed only up to the 17th chunk being received, pointing towards a bottleneck in message handling.

The following architecture was set up for this project:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Relay Testing Setup

Testing was crucial to identify the issue. Tools like Wireshark and tcpdump were used to trace packets at various points in this architecture. Observing packets at each stage helped clarify where communication breakdowns occurred, confirming that messages sent over the 17KB threshold resulted in disruptions.

The Response

After extensive testing and debugging, the solution emerged unexpectedly through routine maintenance on the codebase.

The Solution: Update Fastify Dependencies

The problem ultimately came down to outdated libraries. By updating fastify and fastify-websocket to their latest versions, the communication loss issue vanished entirely. Sometimes, the simplest solution lies in maintaining your dependencies.

Steps Taken:

Set up a new cloud instance to ensure a clean environment.

Installed all required libraries and frameworks from scratch.

Executed the command npm update to refresh package versions, particularly focusing on fastify and fastify-websocket.

This entire process highlighted a crucial takeaway: keeping your libraries updated can prevent unexpected issues and lead to improved performance in your applications.

Conclusion

Dealing with large WebSocket messages can be tricky, especially when relying on external proxies like Nginx. However, through structured testing and a keen eye on dependencies, communication issues can often be resolved more swiftly than anticipated. The important lesson here is to regularly check for updates and assess your setups in straightforward scenarios to nip potential issues in the bud.

Stay informed, keep your software updated, and happy coding!