Node.js module install

  Last updated 2023-06-27

IMPORTANT

This guide only applies to Next-Gen WAF customers with access to the Next-Gen WAF control panel. If you have access to the Next-Gen WAF product in the Fastly control panel, you can only deploy the Next-Gen WAF with the Edge WAF deployment method.

The Next-Gen WAF Node.js module is compatible with Node 0.10 through 18.X. All dependencies are specified in the npm-shrinkwrap.json file.

Installation

Install the latest version from npmjs.com:

$ npm install sigsci-module-nodejs

For specific releases prior to 1.5.3, installation can be performed from the release archive. Replace <VERSION> with the specific version number:

$ npm install https://dl.signalsciences.net/sigsci-module-nodejs/<VERSION>/sigsci-module-nodejs-<VERSION>.tgz

See the package archive for a list of available versions.

Usage

How to incorporate the Next-Gen WAF Node.js module will depend on your application.

Native applications

If your application invokes http.createServer directly, use the native API.

  1. Above your application code, import the Next-Gen WAF Node.js module by adding the following lines:

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    var Sigsci = require('sigsci-module-nodejs')
    

    // Your application code

  2. Below your application code, create a Sigsci object:

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    // Your application code
    

    var sigsci = new Sigsci({
     path: '/var/run/sigsci.sock'
     // Other parameters here
    })

  3. Wrap the dispatcher with sigsci.wrap. Replace the http.createServer(dispatcher).listen(8085, '127.0.0.1') line with:

    http.createServer(sigsci.wrap(dispatcher)).listen(8085, '127.0.0.1')

Example

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var Sigsci = require('sigsci-module-nodejs')


// Your application code


var sigsci = new Sigsci({
 path: '/var/run/sigsci.sock'
 // Other parameters here
})


http.createServer(sigsci.wrap(dispatcher)).listen(8085, '127.0.0.1')

Node.js Express

The Node.js Express module is exposed as Express middleware and is typically inserted as the first middleware, immediately below the var app = express() statement. See the Express Using Middleware documentation for more details.

  1. Above your application code, import the Next-Gen WAF Node.js module by adding the following lines:

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    var Sigsci = require('sigsci-module-nodejs')
    

    // Your application code

  2. Below your application code, create a Sigsci object:

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    // Your application code
    

    var sigsci = new Sigsci({
    path: '/var/run/sigsci.sock'
    // other parameters here
    })

  3. Below the var app = express() line, insert the Node.js module middleware:

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    var app = express()
    app.use(sigsci.express())
    

    // You can still call other middleware and routes
    app.use(...)
    app.get('/route', ...)

Example

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var Sigsci = require('sigsci-module-nodejs')


// Your application code


var sigsci = new Sigsci({
path: '/var/run/sigsci.sock'
// other parameters here
})


var app = express()
app.use(sigsci.express())


// You can still call other middleware and routes
app.use(...)
app.get('/route', ...)

Node.js Restify

Installing the Next-Gen WAF module for Restify is similar to Node.js, except that 404 errors are handled differently in Restify. For best results, Signal Sciences should hook into the NotFound event. See the Restify node server api for more details.

Node.js Hapi v17 & v18

At the top of your application, add the following:

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var Sigsci = require('sigsci-module-nodejs')
const Hapi = require('@hapi/hapi')


var sigsci = new Sigsci({
    path: '/var/run/sigsci.sock'
    // see other options below
})
const init = async() => {
 // Creating a server
 const server = Hapi.Server({
   port: 8085
 });


 server.ext('onRequest', sigsci.hapi17())
 server.events.on('response', sigsci.hapiEnding())
 // Add SigSci request lifecycle methods, e.g.
 // server.route({
 //   method: ['POST', 'PUT', 'PATCH', 'DELETE'],
 //   config: {
 //     payload: {
 //       parse: false,
 //       maxBytes: 10 * 1024 * 1024,
 //       output: 'data'
 //     }
 //   },
 //   path: '/response',
 //   handler: responseHandler
 // })
};
init();

Node.js Hapi v14

At the top of your application, add the following:

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var Sigsci = require('sigsci-module-nodejs')


var sigsci = new Sigsci({
    path: '/var/run/sigsci.sock'
    // see other options below
})
// Creating a Server
const Hapi = require('hapi')
const server = Hapi.Server({
    port: 8085
});
// Add SigSci request lifecycle methods, e.g.
// server.route({
//  method: ['GET', 'POST', 'PUT', 'PATCH', 'DELETE'],
//  path: '/dynamic/response',
//  handler: responseHandler
// })


server.ext('onRequest', sigsci.hapi14())
server.on('response', sigsci.hapiEnding())
server.start((err) => {
 if (err) {
   throw err
 }
 console.log('Server running at:', server.info.uri)
})

Node.js KOA

At the top of your application, add the following:

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const Koa = require('koa');
const Router = require('koa-router');
var Sigsci = require('sigsci-module-nodejs')
const server = new Koa();
const router = new Router();
var sigsci = new Sigsci({
    path: '/var/run/sigsci.sock'
// see other options below
})


// add lifecycle methods here
// var dispatcher = async function (ctx) {
//     let req = ctx.req
//     let res = ctx.res
       // add your code here
// }


// setup your endpoints here
// router.all('/response', dispatcher)


server.use(sigsci.koa())
server.use(router.routes())


server.listen(8085);

Configuration

You can module configuration options directly in the Sigsci object:

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var sigsci = new Sigsci({
path: '/var/run/sigsci.sock'
...
})
NameDescription
portSpecifies the port to connect to the agent via TCP. If this is set, the path parameter is ignored.
hostSpecifies the IP address to connect to the agent via TCP (optional). Default: localhost
pathSpecifies the Unix Domain Socket to connect to the agent via UDS.
socketTimeoutNumber of milliseconds to wait for a response from the agent. After this time the module allows the original request to pass (i.e. fail open).
maxPostSizeControls the maximum size in bytes of a POST body that is sent to the agent. If the body is larger than this value, the post body is not sent to the agent. This allows control over performance (larger POST bodies take longer to process) and to prevent DoS attacks.
logThe function to use to log error messages. By default it will be something to the effect of: function (msg) { console.log(util.format('SIGSCI %s', msg))
anomalySizeThreshold between calculated and reported context response size. Default: 524288
anomalyDurationMillisInternal post processing duration limit. Default: 1000
timeoutMillisFail open timeout for Agent decision engine. Default: 200
expectedContentTypesA space delimited list of custom content-types to support.
extendContentTypesA boolean, enables extended content inspection. Default: false

Additional details and default values are available in the SigSci.js file.

Next Steps

Verify the agent and module installation and explore module options.

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