README

boomcatch

A standalone, node.js-based beacon receiver for boomerang. Read more.

boomcatch version: 3.2.5
node.js versions: 0.10 and later

Installation

At the system level

You can then install boomcatch via npm:

npm install -g boomcatch

Local to a node.js project

Add boomcatch to the dependencies in your project's package.json, then run:

npm install

Usage

From the command line

To see the list of command line options run:

boomcatch --help

Available options are:

--host <name>: Host name to accept HTTP connections on. The default is 0.0.0.0 (INADDR_ANY).
--port <port>: Port to accept HTTP connections on. Defaults to 80 for HTTP or 443 for HTTPS.
--https: Start the server in HTTPS mode.
--httpsPfx: PFX/PKCX12 string containing the private key, certificate and CA certs for HTTPS mode.
--httpsKey: Path to private key file for HTTPS mode. Ignored if --httpsPfx is set.
--httpsCert: Path to certificate file for HTTPS mode. Ignored if --httpsPfx is set.
--httpsPass: Passphrase for --httpsPfx or --httpsKey options.
--path <path>: URL path to accept requests to. The default is /beacon.
--referer <regex>: HTTP referers to accept requests from. The default is .*.
--origin <origin>: Comma-separated list of URL(s) for the Access-Control-Allow-Origin header. The default is * (any origin), specify 'null' to force same origin.
--limit <milliseconds>: Minimum elapsed time to allow between requests from the same IP address. The default is 0.
--maxSize <bytes>: Maximum body size to allow for POST requests. The default is -1 (unlimited).
--silent: Prevent the command from logging output to the console.
--syslog <facility>: Use syslog-compatible logging, with the specified facility level.
--workers <count>: The number of worker processes to spawn. The default is -1 (one worker per CPU).
--delayRespawn <milliseconds>: The length of time to delay before respawning worker processes. The default is 0.
--maxRespawn <count>: The maximum number of times to respawn worker processes. The default is -1 (unlimited).
--validator <path>: Validator used to accept or reject request data. The default is permissive (always accept requests).
--mapper <path>: Data mapper used to transform data before forwarding, loaded with require. The default is statsd.
--prefix <prefix>: Prefix for mapped metric names. The default is the empty string (no prefix).
--forwarder <path>: Forwarder used to send data, loaded with require. The default is udp.
--fwdHost <name>: Host name to forward mapped data to. The default is 127.0.0.1. This option is only effective with the UDP forwarder.
--fwdPort <port>: Port to forward mapped data on. The default is 8125. This option is only effective with the UDP forwarder.
--fwdSize <bytes>: Maximum packet size for forwarded data. The default is 512. This option is only effective with the UDP forwarder.
--fwdUrl <url>: URL to forward mapped data to. This option is only effective with the HTTP forwarder.
--fwdMethod <method>: Method to forward mapped data with. The default is GET. This option is only effective with the HTTP forwarder.
--fwdDir <path>: Directory to write mapped data to. This option is only effective with the file forwarder.

From a node.js project

var path = require('path');
var boomcatch = require('boomcatch');

boomcatch.listen({
    host: 'rum.example.com',                  // Defaults to '0.0.0.0' (INADDR_ANY)
    port: 8080,                               // Defaults to 80 for HTTP or 443 for HTTPS
    https: true,                              // Defaults to false
    httpsKey: 'foo.key',
    httpsCert: 'bar.cert',
    httpsPass: 'baz',
    path: '/perf',                            // Defaults to '/beacon'
    referer: /^\w+\.example\.com$/,           // Defaults to /.*/
    origin: [                                 // Defaults to '*'
    'http://foo.example.com',
    'http://bar.example.com'
    ],
    limit: 100,                               // Defaults to 0
    maxSize: 1048576,                         // Defaults to -1
    log: console,                             // Defaults to object with `info`, `warn` and `error` log functions.
    workers: require('os').cpus().length,     // Defaults to 0
    validator: path.resolve('./myvalidator'), // Defaults to 'permissive'
    mapper: path.resolve('./mymapper'),       // Defaults to 'statsd'
    prefix: 'mystats.rum.',                   // Defaults to ''
    forwarder: 'http',                        // Defaults to 'udp'
    fwdUrl: 'https://stats.example.com/',     // No default
    fwdMethod: 'POST'                         // Defaults to 'GET'
});

Extensions

Boomcatch implements four extension points to control how beacon requests are handled: validators, filters, mappers and forwarders. These extension points are invoked as a pipeline when a beacon request is received.

boomcatch extensions' diagram

Several extensions are shipped as part of Boomcatch, or you can implement your own custom extensions.

You can read more details in the documentation about extensions.

Development

Before submitting any pull requests, please ensure that you have adhered to the contribution guidelines.

To clone the repository:

git clone git@github.com:nature/boomcatch.git

To set up the development environment:

npm install

To lint the code:

npm run lint

To run the unit tests:

npm test

Change log

History

Support

You can have a look at the Springer Nature Frontend Playbook for an explanation of how we support our open source projects.

License

GPL 3

Usage no npm install needed!