WebSockets have been around for over a decade now, but the real-time web existed long before they came. This preceding ‘real-time’ web was typically slower and hard to achieve. It was attained by hacking available web technologies that were not primarily built for real-time applications. There was no solution with TCP/IP socket-style capabilities in a web environment that could address all concerns associated with operating in a web environment.
WebSockets: A Brief History
Around mid-2008, two developers, Ian Hickson and Michael Carter, began to feel the limitations of traditional HTTP connections. Through their collaboration on the W3C mailing list and Internet Relay Chat (IRC), they devised a plan to create a new standard for modern, real-time, bi-directional communication on the web, which they named ‘WebSockets.’ This concept eventually made its way into the W3C HTML standard, and Michael Carter later introduced the WebSocket protocol to the comet community through an article.
In 2010, Google Chrome 4 became the first browser to support WebSockets, paving the way for other browsers to follow suit. By 2011, the WebSocket protocol (RFC 6455) was officially published on the IETF website. Today, nearly all modern browsers fully support WebSockets, and mobile browsers on both Android and iOS have had WebSocket support since 2013. As a result, the current landscape for WebSockets is robust, especially as of 2022.
What Exactly Is a WebSocket?
A WebSocket is a communication protocol that provides a standardized way for web applications to maintain a persistent connection to a server. Unlike traditional HTTP requests, where a connection is established and closed for each interaction, WebSockets keep the connection open, allowing for two-way communication. This means that both the server and the client can send and receive messages at any time, which is ideal for applications that require real-time data exchange, such as chat applications, online gaming, and live streaming.
Before a client/web browser and a server can communicate with each other, a connection needs to be established between them. The client initiates the process by sending in an HTTP request to the server with an Upgrade header included in the request. For example:
GET ws://websocket.dotcom-monitor.com/ HTTP/1.1 Origin: http://example.com Connection: Upgrade Host: websocket.dotcom-monitor.com Upgrade: websocket
This request informs the server that the client wishes to establish a WebSocket connection. And if the server supports WebSockets, it accepts the handshake by sending in an upgrade header in the response. For example:
HTTP/1.1 101 WebSocket Protocol Handshake Date: Wed, 16 Oct 2013 10:07:34 GMT Connection: Upgrade Upgrade: WebSocket
Now that the handshake is completed, Both parties can start sending data to each other. More importantly, as this data consists only of your application’s data, and not any HTTP related attributes such as headers, the communication happens much faster when compared to traditional HTTP requests.
WebSockets vs. HTTP and AJAX
Unlike protocols like HTTP and AJAX, which only communicate in response to client requests, WebSockets offer a full-duplex communication channel that allows the server to initiate communication with the client at any time. Essentially, the WebSocket protocol operates similarly to an interrupt-based application rather than relying on a polling method. This represents a significant shift from the traditional HTTP model, where the client must continuously reach out to the server to request fresh data. In HTTP, the server cannot send new information to the client even if there are changes; it can only respond when the client makes a request.
This limitation can be detrimental for real-time applications, especially as the number of client requests increases. WebSockets create a persistent, bi-directional connection that enables the server to push updates to the client without requiring constant requests. This not only facilitates a low-latency connection between the client and server but also reduces network traffic by eliminating the need for clients to repeatedly send packets for updates.
What Applications Can You Build with WebSockets?
WebSockets are incredibly versatile and can be used to build a wide range of applications. Some popular examples include:
- Real-Time Chat Applications: WebSockets enable instant messaging features where users can send and receive messages in real-time without refreshing the page.
- Online Gaming: Multiplayer games benefit from WebSockets by allowing players to interact in real time, providing a seamless gaming experience.
- Live Sports Updates: Applications that deliver live scores or updates can use WebSockets to push data to users instantly.
- Collaborative Editing: Tools that allow multiple users to edit documents simultaneously can use WebSockets to synchronize changes in real-time.
- Stock Trading Platforms: Traders can receive real-time updates on stock prices and market changes, allowing for quicker decision-making.
Challenges of Using WebSockets
While WebSockets offer numerous advantages for real-time communication, they also present several challenges that developers and businesses must navigate to ensure optimal performance and security. Here are some of the key challenges associated with using WebSockets:
1. Browser Compatibility
One of the primary challenges with WebSockets is ensuring compatibility across different browsers and devices. While most modern browsers fully support the WebSocket protocol, older versions or less common browsers may not, leading to inconsistencies in user experiences. Developers need to implement fallbacks or alternative solutions for users on unsupported browsers, which can increase development complexity.
2. Security Concerns
Maintaining an open connection with WebSockets can expose applications to various security threats. Unlike traditional HTTP connections that close after each request, WebSockets remain open, making them more vulnerable to attacks such as Cross-Site WebSocket Hijacking (CSWSH) and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. Developers must implement robust security measures, including proper authentication and authorization mechanisms, to mitigate these risks. Additionally, ensuring data transmitted over WebSockets is encrypted (e.g., using the WSS protocol) is crucial for protecting sensitive information.
3. Scalability Issues
WebSocket connections consume server resources, and managing a large number of concurrent connections can strain server performance. As the number of active users grows, maintaining low latency and high responsiveness can become challenging. Developers need to carefully design their architecture to handle scalability, potentially implementing load balancers and optimizing server configurations to support large-scale applications.
4. Network Reliability
WebSocket connections rely on stable network conditions. Any fluctuations in connectivity can lead to dropped connections or increased latency, which can degrade the user experience. Developers must implement reconnection logic to handle unexpected disconnections gracefully and provide a seamless experience for users. This can involve retry mechanisms and state management to ensure data consistency.
When is a WebSocket typically Suited for an Application?
In the real-time web, WebSockets are not just about immediacy. They offer things like responsiveness, syncing, and efficiency. As with HTTP, a WebSocket has a set of scenarios that illustrate where it may be a better choice for a project. These scenarios include;
- Fast Reaction Time. When a client has to respond quickly to a change, particularly unpredictable one, a WebSocket would be useful. An example is a chat application where multiple users can chat in real-time. Unlike the Representational State Transfer (REST), a WebSocket has a higher efficiency since it does not require a request or response overhead for individual messages sent or received.
- Ongoing Updates. When a client wants to be continually updated about the state of a resource, WebSockets work better. They are especially important where a client cannot tell when a change may occur
- Ad-hoc Messaging. A WebSocket does not follow the request-response protocol. Either end of the connection can send a message any time, and there is no provision for a message to indicate it is related to another. This makes the web sockets a good fit for ‘fire and forgets’ scenarios.
- High-Frequency Messaging with Small Payloads. WebSockets provide a stable, persistent connection for exchanging messages meaning every message does not incur additional taxes to establish the transport. Taxes like content negotiation, exchanging bulky headers, and establishing SSL are only imposed once during the establishment of the initial connection. In other words, there is no tax on individual messages.
Overall, WebSockets are powerful tools for those looking to add real-time functionality to their web or mobile application. They solve some of the biggest headaches associated with server communication by bridging the full-duplex two-way communication gap. WebSockets enables both the client and server to send data whenever they wish, unlike all the other older methods. This leads to a substantial improvement in performance and reduction in data latency. Through their lightweight connection, WebSockets allows for connections to be kept for longer without compromising on performance.
Monitoring WebSocket-based Web Applications
At a time when online users expect a load time of less than 2 seconds, the performance of your web platform is now weightier than ever before. However, the complex technologies incorporated in modern web pages can make it quite challenging to conduct load testing and performance monitoring. Still, you have to be the first person to know if your web application is experiencing failures or downtime, not your customers or visitors.
A WebSocket-based application can communicate either using synchronous or asynchronous WebSocket calls. Technically, tracking the performance of synchronous calls is straightforward. You would just send a request to the server and wait for the response. However, it can be challenging if you are looking to do that at scale to establish performance benchmarks under heavy load. For such cases, synthetic monitoring solutions can help you continuously monitor your application’s performance. Synthetic APMs monitor your WebSocket-based applications from devices and real browsers located around the world and can help you track down issues related to scaling, performance, and responsiveness.
Asynchronous calls, on the other hand, are tricky to monitor because they do not require a client to initiate the request. Here, the server sends data to the client on its own accord. And as asynchronous WebSocket calls power the real-time notifications of the internet, monitoring them becomes crucial. Synthetic Monitoring solutions are the only viable options here as they often consist of sophisticated and proprietary mechanisms to measure the performance of asynchronous WebSocket calls at scale.
How Is Web Application Monitoring Done?
While having your web application online is critical to your business, you can’t stare at your monitor for possible problems 24hrs a day or keep tapping the F5 key to try and reload- it won’t work. Even setting up a command center complete with a monitoring team may not be feasible, at least not for small and medium businesses. Web application monitoring tools are vital for pinpointing problems and maintaining a healthy web application before they dent your sales.
Web application monitoring is the process of checking the availability and performance of a web page or a web application to ensure a web resource is always available to online users. It encompasses a range of variables such as network, server connectivity, and database. A monitoring system may also record the performance metrics of a computing platform’s interaction with an application.
Wrap Up: Why Monitor Your WebSocket-Based Web Application?
Monitoring your WebSocket application is crucial for several reasons. First, it helps you ensure a seamless user experience by identifying and resolving issues before they impact users. Regular monitoring allows you to gain insights into traffic patterns and user behavior, enabling you to make data-driven decisions for performance optimization. Furthermore, it helps you maintain security by detecting unusual activity or potential attacks on your WebSocket connections. Overall, effective monitoring is key to delivering a high-quality, reliable application that meets user expectations.
At the end of the day, choosing the right monitoring tool can make all the difference in maintaining your WebSocket applications’ performance. Dotcom-Monitor offers robust solutions for monitoring WebSocket applications, providing you with real-time insights into connection health, performance metrics, and user experience. With Dotcom-Monitor, you can ensure that your WebSocket applications run smoothly, allowing you to focus on building engaging, interactive experiences for your users.
