Skip to content

NodeBB socket with CloudFlare

Solved Performance
24 3 14.3k 1
  • Hello

    just for test, I wanted to test that configuration in my dev instance :

    https://community.nodebb.org/topic/7930/using-cloudflare-with-nodebb

    But I have this error uninterruptedly :

    b5eb4be0-873f-45c7-8c70-08f83bf35e34-image.png
    And I don’t know why

    Nodebb config for socket.io :

    aa9716b3-506c-4551-a582-50d4cf91cf89-image.png

    Nginx config for socket.XXXX.XXXX

    server {
    	server_name socket.XXXXX.fr www.socket.XXXX.fr mail.socket.XXXX.fr;
    	root /home/XXXXX/domains/socket.XXXX.fr/public_html;
    	index index.php index.htm index.html;
    	access_log /var/log/virtualmin/socket.XXXX.fr_access_log;
    	error_log /var/log/virtualmin/socket.XXXX.fr_error_log;
    	fastcgi_param GATEWAY_INTERFACE CGI/1.1;
    	fastcgi_param SERVER_SOFTWARE nginx;
    	fastcgi_param QUERY_STRING $query_string;
    	fastcgi_param REQUEST_METHOD $request_method;
    	fastcgi_param CONTENT_TYPE $content_type;
    	fastcgi_param CONTENT_LENGTH $content_length;
    	fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME "/home/XXXXX/domains/socket.XXXXXX.fr/public_html$fastcgi_script_name";
    	fastcgi_param SCRIPT_NAME $fastcgi_script_name;
    	fastcgi_param REQUEST_URI $request_uri;
    	fastcgi_param DOCUMENT_URI $document_uri;
    	fastcgi_param DOCUMENT_ROOT /home/XXXXX/domains/socket.XXXXX.fr/public_html;
    	fastcgi_param SERVER_PROTOCOL $server_protocol;
    	fastcgi_param REMOTE_ADDR $remote_addr;
    	fastcgi_param REMOTE_PORT $remote_port;
    	fastcgi_param SERVER_ADDR $server_addr;
    	fastcgi_param SERVER_PORT $server_port;
    	fastcgi_param SERVER_NAME $server_name;
    	fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $fastcgi_path_info;
    	fastcgi_param HTTPS $https;
    	location ^~ /.well-known/ {
    		try_files $uri /;
    	}
    	location ~ "\.php(/|$)" {
    		try_files $uri $fastcgi_script_name =404;
    		default_type application/x-httpd-php;
    		fastcgi_pass unix:/var/php-fpm/16908800991403014.sock;
    	}
    
    	location / {
            proxy_set_header X-Real-IP       $remote_addr;
            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
            proxy_set_header Host            $http_host;
            proxy_set_header X-NginX-Proxy   true;
            proxy_set_header Upgrade         $http_upgrade;
            proxy_set_header Connection      "upgrade";
            proxy_redirect                   off;
            proxy_http_version               1.1;
            proxy_pass                       http://localhost:4567;
        }
    
    	fastcgi_split_path_info "^(.+\.php)(/.+)$";
    	location /cgi-bin/ {
    		gzip off;
    		root /home/XXXXX/domains/socket.XXXXX.fr/cgi-bin;
    		fastcgi_pass unix:/var/fcgiwrap/16908800991403014.sock/socket;
    		fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME "/home/XXXXXXX/domains/socket.XXXXXX.fr$fastcgi_script_name";
    		fastcgi_param GATEWAY_INTERFACE CGI/1.1;
    		fastcgi_param SERVER_SOFTWARE nginx;
    		fastcgi_param QUERY_STRING $query_string;
    		fastcgi_param REQUEST_METHOD $request_method;
    		fastcgi_param CONTENT_TYPE $content_type;
    		fastcgi_param CONTENT_LENGTH $content_length;
    		fastcgi_param SCRIPT_NAME $fastcgi_script_name;
    		fastcgi_param REQUEST_URI $request_uri;
    		fastcgi_param DOCUMENT_URI $document_uri;
    		fastcgi_param DOCUMENT_ROOT /home/XXXXXXX/domains/socket.XXXXXXX.fr/public_html;
    		fastcgi_param SERVER_PROTOCOL $server_protocol;
    		fastcgi_param REMOTE_ADDR $remote_addr;
    		fastcgi_param REMOTE_PORT $remote_port;
    		fastcgi_param SERVER_ADDR $server_addr;
    		fastcgi_param SERVER_PORT $server_port;
    		fastcgi_param SERVER_NAME $server_name;
    		fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $fastcgi_path_info;
    		fastcgi_param HTTPS $https;
    	}
    	listen x.x.x.x:443 ssl;
    	listen [x.x.x.x::1]:443 ssl;
        ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/media.XXXXXX.fr/fullchain.pem; # managed by Certbot
        ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/media.XXXXXXXX.fr/privkey.pem;
     # managed by Certbot
    }
    server {
        if ($host = socket.virtuaverse.fr) {
            return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
        } # managed by Certbot
    
    
    	server_name socket.XXXXXXXX.fr www.socket.XXXXXX.fr mail.socket.XXXXXXx.fr;
    	listen x.x.x.x;
    	listen [x.x.x.x::1];
        return 404; # managed by Certbot
    
    
    }
    

    Cloudflare config :

    6dd0bf70-d22d-4fb5-a5c3-e5a275722dcc-image.png

    wrote on last edited by
    #6

    @DownPW Does this issue manifest itself in Incognito mode?

  • wrote on last edited by
    #7

    yes, it does

  • Hello

    just for test, I wanted to test that configuration in my dev instance :

    https://community.nodebb.org/topic/7930/using-cloudflare-with-nodebb

    But I have this error uninterruptedly :

    b5eb4be0-873f-45c7-8c70-08f83bf35e34-image.png
    And I don’t know why

    Nodebb config for socket.io :

    aa9716b3-506c-4551-a582-50d4cf91cf89-image.png

    Nginx config for socket.XXXX.XXXX

    server {
    	server_name socket.XXXXX.fr www.socket.XXXX.fr mail.socket.XXXX.fr;
    	root /home/XXXXX/domains/socket.XXXX.fr/public_html;
    	index index.php index.htm index.html;
    	access_log /var/log/virtualmin/socket.XXXX.fr_access_log;
    	error_log /var/log/virtualmin/socket.XXXX.fr_error_log;
    	fastcgi_param GATEWAY_INTERFACE CGI/1.1;
    	fastcgi_param SERVER_SOFTWARE nginx;
    	fastcgi_param QUERY_STRING $query_string;
    	fastcgi_param REQUEST_METHOD $request_method;
    	fastcgi_param CONTENT_TYPE $content_type;
    	fastcgi_param CONTENT_LENGTH $content_length;
    	fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME "/home/XXXXX/domains/socket.XXXXXX.fr/public_html$fastcgi_script_name";
    	fastcgi_param SCRIPT_NAME $fastcgi_script_name;
    	fastcgi_param REQUEST_URI $request_uri;
    	fastcgi_param DOCUMENT_URI $document_uri;
    	fastcgi_param DOCUMENT_ROOT /home/XXXXX/domains/socket.XXXXX.fr/public_html;
    	fastcgi_param SERVER_PROTOCOL $server_protocol;
    	fastcgi_param REMOTE_ADDR $remote_addr;
    	fastcgi_param REMOTE_PORT $remote_port;
    	fastcgi_param SERVER_ADDR $server_addr;
    	fastcgi_param SERVER_PORT $server_port;
    	fastcgi_param SERVER_NAME $server_name;
    	fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $fastcgi_path_info;
    	fastcgi_param HTTPS $https;
    	location ^~ /.well-known/ {
    		try_files $uri /;
    	}
    	location ~ "\.php(/|$)" {
    		try_files $uri $fastcgi_script_name =404;
    		default_type application/x-httpd-php;
    		fastcgi_pass unix:/var/php-fpm/16908800991403014.sock;
    	}
    
    	location / {
            proxy_set_header X-Real-IP       $remote_addr;
            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
            proxy_set_header Host            $http_host;
            proxy_set_header X-NginX-Proxy   true;
            proxy_set_header Upgrade         $http_upgrade;
            proxy_set_header Connection      "upgrade";
            proxy_redirect                   off;
            proxy_http_version               1.1;
            proxy_pass                       http://localhost:4567;
        }
    
    	fastcgi_split_path_info "^(.+\.php)(/.+)$";
    	location /cgi-bin/ {
    		gzip off;
    		root /home/XXXXX/domains/socket.XXXXX.fr/cgi-bin;
    		fastcgi_pass unix:/var/fcgiwrap/16908800991403014.sock/socket;
    		fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME "/home/XXXXXXX/domains/socket.XXXXXX.fr$fastcgi_script_name";
    		fastcgi_param GATEWAY_INTERFACE CGI/1.1;
    		fastcgi_param SERVER_SOFTWARE nginx;
    		fastcgi_param QUERY_STRING $query_string;
    		fastcgi_param REQUEST_METHOD $request_method;
    		fastcgi_param CONTENT_TYPE $content_type;
    		fastcgi_param CONTENT_LENGTH $content_length;
    		fastcgi_param SCRIPT_NAME $fastcgi_script_name;
    		fastcgi_param REQUEST_URI $request_uri;
    		fastcgi_param DOCUMENT_URI $document_uri;
    		fastcgi_param DOCUMENT_ROOT /home/XXXXXXX/domains/socket.XXXXXXX.fr/public_html;
    		fastcgi_param SERVER_PROTOCOL $server_protocol;
    		fastcgi_param REMOTE_ADDR $remote_addr;
    		fastcgi_param REMOTE_PORT $remote_port;
    		fastcgi_param SERVER_ADDR $server_addr;
    		fastcgi_param SERVER_PORT $server_port;
    		fastcgi_param SERVER_NAME $server_name;
    		fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $fastcgi_path_info;
    		fastcgi_param HTTPS $https;
    	}
    	listen x.x.x.x:443 ssl;
    	listen [x.x.x.x::1]:443 ssl;
        ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/media.XXXXXX.fr/fullchain.pem; # managed by Certbot
        ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/media.XXXXXXXX.fr/privkey.pem;
     # managed by Certbot
    }
    server {
        if ($host = socket.virtuaverse.fr) {
            return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
        } # managed by Certbot
    
    
    	server_name socket.XXXXXXXX.fr www.socket.XXXXXX.fr mail.socket.XXXXXXx.fr;
    	listen x.x.x.x;
    	listen [x.x.x.x::1];
        return 404; # managed by Certbot
    
    
    }
    

    Cloudflare config :

    6dd0bf70-d22d-4fb5-a5c3-e5a275722dcc-image.png

    wrote on last edited by phenomlab
    #8

    @DownPW You should simplify the nginx config - below a suggestion

    server {
    	server_name socket.XXXXX.fr www.socket.XXXX.fr mail.socket.XXXX.fr;
    	access_log /var/log/virtualmin/socket.XXXX.fr_access_log;
    	error_log /var/log/virtualmin/socket.XXXX.fr_error_log;
    	listen x.x.x.x:443 ssl;
    	listen [x.x.x.x::1]:443 ssl;
        ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/media.XXXXXX.fr/fullchain.pem; # managed by Certbot
        ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/media.XXXXXXXX.fr/privkey.pem;
    
    	location / {
            proxy_set_header X-Real-IP       $remote_addr;
            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
            proxy_set_header Host            $http_host;
            proxy_set_header X-NginX-Proxy   true;
            proxy_set_header Upgrade         $http_upgrade;
            proxy_set_header Connection      "upgrade";
            proxy_redirect                   off;
            proxy_http_version               1.1;
            proxy_pass                       http://localhost:4567;
        }
    
    
     # managed by Certbot
    }
    server {
        if ($host = socket.virtuaverse.fr) {
            return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
        } # managed by Certbot
    	server_name socket.XXXXXXXX.fr www.socket.XXXXXX.fr mail.socket.XXXXXXx.fr;
    	listen x.x.x.x;
    	listen [x.x.x.x::1];
        return 404; # managed by Certbot
    }
    
  • wrote on last edited by
    #9

    @phenomlab done

  • wrote on last edited by phenomlab
    #10

    @DownPW Also remove these lines and restart nginx

    root /home/XXXXX/domains/socket.XXXX.fr/public_html;
    
    	index index.php index.htm index.html;
    
  • wrote on last edited by
    #11

    Same

    image.png

  • wrote on last edited by DownPW
    #12

    I see this on start log nodebb

    e5fc0e62-fa92-461d-9bfe-2b2b9ace2232-image.png

  • phenomlab phenomlab forked this topic on
  • wrote on last edited by
    #13

    There’s more of an issue here - try to change any CSS or JS in the ACP, and you’ll see that it does not save.

  • wrote on last edited by
    #14

    ???

  • I see this on start log nodebb

    e5fc0e62-fa92-461d-9bfe-2b2b9ace2232-image.png

    wrote on last edited by
    #15

    @DownPW Now working for me in Incognito. Can you check

  • There’s more of an issue here - try to change any CSS or JS in the ACP, and you’ll see that it does not save.

    wrote on last edited by
    #16

    @phenomlab said in NodeBB socket with CloudFlare:

    There’s more of an issue here - try to change any CSS or JS in the ACP, and you’ll see that it does not save.

    due to socket.io configuration in nodebb config.json file

    Actually I have delete socket.io block and change CSS and save is good.

  • @phenomlab said in NodeBB socket with CloudFlare:

    There’s more of an issue here - try to change any CSS or JS in the ACP, and you’ll see that it does not save.

    due to socket.io configuration in nodebb config.json file

    Actually I have delete socket.io block and change CSS and save is good.

    wrote on last edited by phenomlab
    #17

    @DownPW Ok, but that now means you should not need the socket A record anymore because it’s not used. From the logs, the socket is running on the site’s URL.

  • wrote on last edited by DownPW
    #18

    normal that it is not used (A record) @phenomlab because there currently, I do not use it because the socket.io block is removed from config.json.

    I’m just in normal mode with Cloudflare :

    5272437e-9b74-4482-881a-5c376cf73900-image.png

    I can put it back if you want ?

  • normal that it is not used (A record) @phenomlab because there currently, I do not use it because the socket.io block is removed from config.json.

    I’m just in normal mode with Cloudflare :

    5272437e-9b74-4482-881a-5c376cf73900-image.png

    I can put it back if you want ?

    wrote on last edited by phenomlab
    #19

    @DownPW It seems to be working fine without it, so I’d leave it. I see zero socket errors, so all good.

  • wrote on last edited by DownPW
    #20

    because I’m alone on the server.

    The goal is to try to market this method before putting it into production where i have a lot of errors

    And we can see that it doesn’t work when I try to reroute the web sockets in non-proxied mode. (socket error, no save when chnage in ACP, etc…)

    I don’t know if I can make myself understood. @phenomlab 🙂

  • because I’m alone on the server.

    The goal is to try to market this method before putting it into production where i have a lot of errors

    And we can see that it doesn’t work when I try to reroute the web sockets in non-proxied mode. (socket error, no save when chnage in ACP, etc…)

    I don’t know if I can make myself understood. @phenomlab 🙂

    wrote on last edited by
    #21

    @DownPW Understood. Even with just the two of us connected, I was still getting the websocket error, but I think that was related to config etc. In all honesty, this is yet another reason why I stopped using CF. I know you need it to hide your IP address, but if you bypass CF for the socket, you are exposing your IP anyway.

  • wrote on last edited by DownPW
    #22

    I know, I know,

    too bad… I just wanted to test this method but it seems more complex than it looks to make it work correctly

    The reverse proxy method is currently too expensive for me and technically too abstract

  • I know, I know,

    too bad… I just wanted to test this method but it seems more complex than it looks to make it work correctly

    The reverse proxy method is currently too expensive for me and technically too abstract

    wrote on last edited by
    #23

    @DownPW it’s your only realistic option at this stage.

  • wrote on last edited by
    #24

    Solved. Tuto here and here

  • DownPW DownPW has marked this topic as solved on

Did this solution help you?
Did you find the suggested solution useful? Support 💗 Sudonix with a coffee ☕
If your organisation needs deeper expertise around infrastructure, security, or technology leadership, learn more about Phenomlab Ltd. Many of the deeper technical guides behind Sudonix are published there.

Related Topics
  • Nodebb to Xenforo

    Solved Configure xenforo nodebb
    3
    0 Votes
    3 Posts
    1k Views
    phenomlab
    @cagatay as @downpw stated, there isn’t a native tool that will do this for you. You’d need to either develop your own or ask the nodebb team to assist which will be a paid exercise.
  • NodeBB v4.0.0

    General nodebb sudonix version 4
    28
    4 Votes
    28 Posts
    8k Views
    phenomlab
    @Panda said in NodeBB v4.0.0: the workings of World aren’t intuitive Its not easy to get World populating when a forum is new to it This is a good point and one I’ve considered also. It’s a little confusing to be honest.
  • What plugins are being used here on Sudonix?

    Solved General nodebb plugins development
    6
    5 Votes
    6 Posts
    2k Views
    phenomlab
    @Roki-Antic Welcome! This site isn’t running Persona, but Harmony - a very heavily customised version at that. Do you have a URL where your site is currently located that is publicly accessible? Feel free to PM this info if you do not want to disclose here. Happy to help with any customisation needs.
  • SEO and Nodebb

    Performance nodebb seo
    2
    2 Votes
    2 Posts
    2k Views
    phenomlab
    @Panda It’s the best it’s ever been to be honest. I’ve used a myriad of systems in the past - most notably, WordPress, and then Flarum (which for SEO, was absolutely dire - they never even had SEO out of the box, and relied on a third party extension to do it), and NodeBB easily fares the best - see below example https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Asudonix.org&oq=site%3Asudonix.org&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60j69i58j69i60l2.9039j0j3&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#ip=1 However, this was not without significant effort on my part once I’d migrated from COM to ORG - see below posts https://community.nodebb.org/topic/17286/google-crawl-error-after-site-migration/17?_=1688461250365 And also https://support.google.com/webmasters/thread/221027803?hl=en&msgid=221464164 It was painful to say the least - as it turns out, there was an issue in NodeBB core that prevented spiders from getting to content, which as far as I understand, is now fixed. SEO in itself is a dark art - a black box that nobody really fully understands, and it’s essentially going to boil down to one thing - “content”. Google’s algorithm for indexing has also changed dramatically over the years. They only now crawl content that has value, so if it believes that your site has nothing to offer, it will simply skip it.
  • NodeBB v3.0.0-rc.1

    Performance nodebb v3.0.0
    1
    1 Votes
    1 Posts
    701 Views
    No one has replied
  • 1 Votes
    3 Posts
    1k Views
    phenomlab
    @qwinter yes, I recently migrated this site to CF in full and noticed the same thing. Seems CF also has native socket support now under the free plan, so win/win. I’ve not noticed any degradation of service since moving so happy to stay put for the time being.
  • NodeBB slow after DB recovery

    Solved Performance performance nodebb
    1
    5 Votes
    1 Posts
    967 Views
    No one has replied
  • NodeBB - Created pages not found?

    General
    20
    3 Votes
    20 Posts
    6k Views
    phenomlab
    @jac Exactly. Hard point to argue.