Make Apache and NodeJS live together

In this post we explore how you can configure NodeJS and Apache to make them work together with just one IP address.

Resources

• 1and1 - Set up a NodeJS app for a website with Apache on Ubuntu 16.04

Install Node.js

First off, update the server’s packages and install curl:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install curl

Download the Node.js PPA:

curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_6.x -o nodesource_setup.sh
sudo bash nodesource_setup.sh

Then run the nodesource_setup.sh command to add the PPA to your server’s package cache:

sudo bash nodesource_setup.sh

Note: The script will update the server automatically.

Install Node.js:

sudo apt-get install nodejs

This automatically installs npm.

Finally, install the build-essential package for npm:

sudo apt-get install build-essential

Create a Sample Node.js application

We create a separate directory in our website’s document root for housing Node.js applications:

sudo mkdir /var/www/sammy.fr/nodejs

In this directory we create the file hello.js:

sudo vim /var/www/sammy.fr/nodejs/hello.js

And we put the following content into the file:

/var/www/sammy.fr/nodejs/hello.js

#!/usr/bin/env nodejs
var http = require('http');
http.createServer(function (request, response) {
   response.writeHead(200, {'Content-Type': 'text/plain'});
   response.end('Hello World! Node.js is working correctly.\n');
}).listen(8080);
console.log('Server running at http://127.0.0.1:8080/');

We then make the file executable:

sudo chmod 755 /var/www/sammy.fr/nodejs/hello.js

Install PM2

We use npm to make the file executable:

sudo npm install -g pm2

We start the script with the following command:

sudo pm2 start hello.js

As root we add PM2 to the startup scripts, so that it will automatically restart if the server is rebooted:

sudo pm2 startup systemd

Configure Apache

To access the Node.js script from the web, install the Apache modules proxy and proxy_http with the commands:

sudo a2enmod proxy
sudo a2enmod proxy_http

Once the installation is complete, restart Apache for the changes to take effect:

sudo service apache2 restart

Next, you will need to add the Apache proxy configurations. These directives need to be inserted into the VirtualHost command block in the site’s main Apache configuration file.

By common convention, this Apache configuration file is usually /etc/apache2/sites-available/sammy.fr.conf on Ubuntu.

Note: The location and filename of a site’s Apache configuration file can vary.

Edit this file with your editor of choice, for example with the command:

sudo vim /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.com.conf

Scroll through the file until you find the VirtualHost command block, which will look like:

/etc/apache2/sites-available/example.com.conf

<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerName sammy.fr
    <Directory "/var/www/sammy.fr/public_html">
    AllowOverride All
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Add the following to VirtualHost command block:

/etc/apache2/sites-available/example.com.conf

  ProxyRequests Off
  ProxyPreserveHost On
  ProxyVia Full
  <Proxy *>
     Require all granted
  </Proxy>

  <Location /nodejs>
     ProxyPass http://127.0.0.1:8080
     ProxyPassReverse http://127.0.0.1:8080
  </Location>

Be sure to put these lines outside any Directory command blocks. For example:

<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerName sammy.fr

   ProxyRequests Off
   ProxyPreserveHost On
   ProxyVia Full
   <Proxy *>
      Require all granted
   </Proxy>

   <Location /nodejs>
      ProxyPass http://127.0.0.1:8080
      ProxyPassReverse http://127.0.0.1:8080
   </Location>

    <Directory "/var/www/sammy.fr/public_html">
    AllowOverride All
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Save and exit the file, then restart Apache for the changes to take effect:

sudo service apache2 restart

After Apache restarts, you can test the application by viewing it in a browser. You should see the message, “Hello World! Node.js is working correctly.”