Merge pull request 'Document Node.js as a backend option in switching-site-backend' (#13) from docs/node-backend-option into main

2026-09-04 16:52:46 +00:00
parent 9f8d05eec8 113c795c83
commit 6700ce27b8
3 changed files with 181 additions and 2 deletions
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 title: Switching your site's backend
-description: Change the web engine (container type) running a site — standard PHP/FPM or the premium LiteSpeed/OpenLiteSpeed tier.
+description: Change the container type running a site — standard PHP/FPM, the premium LiteSpeed/OpenLiteSpeed tier, or Node.js.
 sidebar:
  order: 6
 ---
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import { Steps, Aside } from '@astrojs/starlight/components';
 import SignIn from '~/content/partials/signing-in.mdx';
 import Support from '~/content/partials/support-link.mdx';

-Every WHP site runs inside a container. The **container type** determines the web engine that serves your site's files and runs your PHP code. Most sites use a standard PHP or PHP-FPM container, which handles the vast majority of WordPress and PHP workloads well. If you've enabled the **Optimized Webserver** add-on, you also have access to LiteSpeed/OpenLiteSpeed (OLS) container types — a premium engine known for its built-in full-page cache (LSCache) and lower memory usage under traffic.
+Every WHP site runs inside a container. The **container type** determines the engine that serves your site: PHP, LiteSpeed, or Node.js. Most sites use a standard PHP or PHP-FPM container, which handles the vast majority of WordPress and PHP workloads well. If you've enabled the **Optimized Webserver** add-on, you also have access to LiteSpeed/OpenLiteSpeed (OLS) container types — a premium engine known for its built-in full-page cache (LSCache) and lower memory usage under traffic. If you're deploying your own application code instead of PHP, Node.js container types are also available — see [Node.js](#nodejs) below.

 Switching backends is a one-step change in the Sites editor, but it does briefly restart your container, so plan for a few seconds of downtime.

@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ Switching backends is a one-step change in the Sites editor, but it does briefly
 4. Select the backend you want:
   - **PHP** or **PHP-FPM** options — standard shared webserver tier, suitable for most WordPress and PHP sites.
   - **LiteSpeed PHP** options (e.g. *LiteSpeed PHP 8.x*) — premium OLS tier. These only appear if the Optimized Webserver add-on is active on your account.
+   - **Node18**, **Node20**, or **Node22** — for sites running your own Node.js application code instead of PHP. See [Node.js](#nodejs) below before switching to one of these.

 5. Click **Save**. WHP recreates the container with the new engine. Expect a brief moment of downtime (typically a few seconds) while the container restarts.

@@ -55,6 +56,24 @@ To enable it:
 2. Enable it from your [client portal](https://secure.anhonesthost.com/clientarea.php).
 3. Once active, the LiteSpeed PHP options will appear in the Container Type dropdown when editing any site.

+## Node.js
+
+Node.js container types (**Node18**, **Node20**, **Node22**) run your own application code instead of PHP — the container starts your app the same way you would locally with `npm start`. They're for React/Next.js servers, Express APIs, and other Node apps, not for WordPress or PHP sites.
+
+<Aside type="caution">
+  Switching an **existing PHP or WordPress site** to a Node container type won't make your PHP files run — Node containers don't execute PHP at all. Node backends are for sites where you're deploying your own Node.js application code. If you're starting a brand-new Node app rather than switching an existing site, [Create a site](/whp/how-to/create-a-site/) and choose **Node.js app** under "What are you building?" is the more direct path.
+</Aside>
+
+A few things behave differently for Node compared to switching between PHP tiers:
+
+- **No PHP-FPM / LiteSpeed choice.** Node containers bundle their own web server, so the shared-vs-standalone placement option that applies to PHP and LiteSpeed containers doesn't apply here — you won't see that toggle once a Node container type is selected.
+- **Higher minimum memory.** Node containers need more headroom than PHP containers. Selecting a Node container type in the editor bumps **Memory per Container** up to at least 512 MB (versus 256 MB for standard PHP). If your account doesn't have that much unused memory in its resource allowance, WHP will tell you and block the change until you free up resources or [upgrade your plan](/whp/add-ons/resource-upgrades/).
+- **Optional WebSocket / real-time support.** The Edit Site form has a **WebSocket / real-time support** checkbox alongside the Container Type field. Turn it on if your Node app holds connections open (Socket.IO, live chat, streaming) — it keeps connections alive for up to 6 hours instead of the standard 5-minute timeout. This is unrelated to the container type itself and works whether or not you just switched to Node.
+
+![Edit Site modal with Container Type set to Node22, showing Memory per Container automatically raised to 512 MB](~/assets/screenshots/whp/whp-sites-edit-node.png)
+
+Once you've switched and saved, upload your app to the `app/` folder for that domain via SFTP — see [Create a site](/whp/how-to/create-a-site/#where-your-files-go) for the file layout and how WHP starts your app.
+
 ## Before cancelling the Optimized Webserver add-on

 <Aside type="caution">
@@ -89,6 +108,10 @@ Once all sites are on standard backends, you can cancel or disable the add-on fr

 **LiteSpeed cache not serving cached pages after the switch.** This is expected — the cache starts empty after every container recreation. It warms up automatically as visitors load pages.

+**"Your account does not have enough resources left" when selecting a Node type.** Node containers need at least 512 MB of memory. Free up resources by removing or resizing another site, or [upgrade your plan](/whp/add-ons/resource-upgrades/).
+
+**Site shows a 502 after switching to Node.** Give the container 15–30 seconds to start your app. If it's still down, confirm your app listens on the port WHP passes it via environment variable — see [Create a site](/whp/how-to/create-a-site/#troubleshooting).
+
 ## Related

 - [Create a site](/whp/how-to/create-a-site/)
@@ -0,0 +1,156 @@
+/**
+ * Sites "backend" capture — the Edit Site modal's Container Type field,
+ * captured with a Node.js container type selected (for the "switching your
+ * site's backend" how-to's Node.js section).
+ *
+ * Captures, as the demo customer:
+ *   - whp-sites-edit-node.png   Edit Site modal, Container Type = Node22,
+ *                               showing the auto-adjusted Memory per
+ *                               Container / Total Resources readout.
+ *
+ * Viewport-only (1440x900), redacted for our multi-server fleet: server /
+ * mail / nameserver hostnames, IPs, and the navbar brand strip become
+ * neutral or hidden, while the brand demo domain (whp-demo.anhh.co) stays
+ * visible on purpose.
+ *
+ * Read-only: opens the Edit modal and changes the Container Type dropdown
+ * for the shot, but never clicks Save.
+ */
+import { chromium, type Page } from 'playwright';
+import { mkdir, readFile } from 'node:fs/promises';
+import { resolve, dirname } from 'node:path';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
+
+const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
+const OUT_DIR = resolve(__dirname, '../../src/assets/screenshots/whp');
+
+async function loadEnv(): Promise<void> {
+  const envPath = resolve(__dirname, '.env');
+  const content = await readFile(envPath, 'utf-8');
+  for (const line of content.split('\n')) {
+    const trimmed = line.trim();
+    if (!trimmed || trimmed.startsWith('#')) continue;
+    const eq = trimmed.indexOf('=');
+    if (eq === -1) continue;
+    const key = trimmed.slice(0, eq).trim();
+    const val = trimmed.slice(eq + 1).trim();
+    if (!process.env[key]) process.env[key] = val;
+  }
+}
+
+function need(name: string): string {
+  const v = process.env[name];
+  if (!v) throw new Error(`missing env: ${name}`);
+  return v;
+}
+
+const HIDE_CSS = `.navbar-text, .brand-full { visibility: hidden !important; }`;
+
+async function login(page: Page, base: string, user: string, pass: string) {
+  await page.goto(`${base}/login.php`, { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
+  await page.fill('input[name="user"]', user);
+  await page.fill('input[name="password"]', pass);
+  await page.click('button[type="submit"]');
+  await page.waitForLoadState('networkidle');
+}
+
+/**
+ * Neutralise fleet-identifying text before the screenshot. The brand demo
+ * domain (anhh.co) is intentionally preserved; everything that names a
+ * specific server, mail host, nameserver, or IP is swapped for a placeholder.
+ */
+async function redact(page: Page) {
+  await page.addStyleTag({ content: HIDE_CSS });
+  await page.evaluate(() => {
+    const swaps: [RegExp, string][] = [
+      [/ns[12]\.whp\d+(-[a-z0-9]+)?\.cloud-hosting\.io/gi, 'ns<n>.<your-server>.cloud-hosting.io'],
+      [/whp\d+(-[a-z0-9]+)?\.cloud-hosting\.io/gi, '<your-server>.cloud-hosting.io'],
+      [/mail\d+\.cloud-hosting\.io/gi, '<mail-server>.cloud-hosting.io'],
+      [/WHP\d+(-[A-Z0-9]+)?\b/g, '<YOUR-SERVER>'],
+      [/whp\d+(-[a-z0-9]+)?\b/gi, '<your-server>'],
+      // Public IPv4 (skip RFC1918 — those read fine as generic examples)
+      [/\b\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\b/g, '<server-IP>'],
+      [/demo-user/g, 'your-username'],
+    ];
+    const walker = document.createTreeWalker(document.body, NodeFilter.SHOW_TEXT);
+    const nodes: Text[] = [];
+    let n: Node | null = walker.nextNode();
+    while (n) { nodes.push(n as Text); n = walker.nextNode(); }
+    for (const node of nodes) {
+      let v = node.nodeValue ?? '';
+      for (const [re, rep] of swaps) v = v.replace(re, rep);
+      if (v !== node.nodeValue) node.nodeValue = v;
+    }
+    document.querySelectorAll<HTMLInputElement>('input').forEach((el) => {
+      if (el.type === 'password' || !el.value) return;
+      let v = el.value;
+      for (const [re, rep] of swaps) v = v.replace(re, rep);
+      if (v !== el.value) el.value = v;
+    });
+  });
+}
+
+async function shot(page: Page, id: string) {
+  await page.waitForTimeout(400);
+  await redact(page);
+  const path = resolve(OUT_DIR, `${id}.png`);
+  await page.screenshot({ path, fullPage: false });
+  console.log(`captured ${id} -> ${path}`);
+}
+
+async function main() {
+  await loadEnv();
+  const BASE = need('WHP_BASE');
+  const USER = need('WHP_USER');
+  const PASS = need('WHP_PASS');
+  const DOMAIN = process.env.WHP_DEMO_DOMAIN ?? 'whp-demo.anhh.co';
+
+  await mkdir(OUT_DIR, { recursive: true });
+  const browser = await chromium.launch({ headless: true });
+  const ctx = await browser.newContext({
+    ignoreHTTPSErrors: true,
+    viewport: { width: 1440, height: 900 },
+    deviceScaleFactor: 2,
+  });
+  const page = await ctx.newPage();
+  try {
+    await login(page, BASE, USER, PASS);
+
+    await page.goto(`${BASE}/index.php?page=sites`, { waitUntil: 'networkidle' });
+
+    // Select the demo site from the "Select a Site" widget (Choices.js).
+    const siteChoicesContainer = page.locator('div.choices:has(#siteDropdown)').first();
+    await siteChoicesContainer.click();
+    await page.waitForTimeout(300);
+    const item = page
+      .locator('.choices__list--dropdown .choices__item--choice', { hasText: DOMAIN.split('.')[0] })
+      .first();
+    await item.click();
+
+    // Wait for the async site-details fetch, then open Edit (Manage).
+    await page.locator('#siteActionsContainer').waitFor({ state: 'visible', timeout: 10000 });
+    await page.waitForTimeout(300);
+    await page.locator('#manageSiteBtn').click();
+    await page.waitForTimeout(800);
+
+    // Switch the Container Type to Node22 (the newest of the three Node
+    // options) to show the memory floor auto-adjust to 512 MB.
+    const editSelect = page.locator('#edit_container_type_id');
+    await editSelect.waitFor({ state: 'visible', timeout: 10000 });
+    await editSelect.scrollIntoViewIfNeeded();
+    const nodeOption = editSelect.locator('option', { hasText: 'Node22' });
+    const nodeValue = await nodeOption.getAttribute('value');
+    if (!nodeValue) throw new Error('Node22 option not found in edit_container_type_id');
+    await editSelect.selectOption(nodeValue);
+    await page.waitForTimeout(600);
+
+    await shot(page, 'whp-sites-edit-node');
+  } finally {
+    await browser.close();
+  }
+}
+
+main().catch((err) => {
+  console.error(err);
+  process.exit(1);
+});