Redirect websockets to port?

Question

So, I've got a WebSocket server in C++, that is a completely stand-alone entity - handles header parsing, receiving, sending, all of it on its own, listening directly to the port.

Problem is, it needs to run on a server alongside Apache, and that's a bit of a problem. Now, there was a solution here to a similar issue involving mod_proxy, but I'm hoping I can intercept and redirect WebSocket communication before Apache even knows about it, possibly with iptables.

So the question is, is it possible to direct traffic bound for chat.mysite.net to a WebSocket server on, say, port 8080, while anything else headed to mysite.net proceeds as expected to Apache?

Not if they have the same IP address. You need HTTP header inspection to figure out if it's a websocket connection. — David Schwartz, Nov 05 '12 at 23:06

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 08 '12 at 03:30

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It turns out this is actually pretty easy; just code the client to access the server at ws://mysite.com:8080. With all the touting of WebSockets being able to use port 80, I was quite surprised to learn it doesn't need to.

answered Dec 08 '12 at 03:30

DigitalMan

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score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 05 '12 at 23:09

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Sorry, it's not possible with iptables because iptables doesn't speak/understand http protocol. Someone should write ip_conntrack_http so this could actually work (something similar as ftp conntrack thingie) ;-) Till then you should probably use apache with mod_proxy or nginx.

answered Nov 05 '12 at 23:09

FINESEC

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I'm assuming that both servers are binded to the same IP address because otherwise this question doesn't make much sense (the answer would be too simple) – FINESEC Nov 05 '12 at 23:20

Redirect websockets to port?

2 Answers2