Can't get express.js working with IISNode

Question

I've set IISNode up on a server, and followed a guide to get a simple hello world node.js app running with it. It works fine and it's externally accessible via the internet. However, when I try to incorporate my existing express app, it's like node/express aren't even there.

This is my web.config file:

<configuration>
<system.webServer>

<handlers>
<add name="iisnode" path="app.js" verb="*" modules="iisnode" />
</handlers>

</system.webServer>
</configuration>

That is at the IIS application's root directory, along with app.js which is my main express file. What's interesting is if I go to localhost/TestApp/app.js, I get back:

Cannot GET /TestApp/app.js

However, if I try a different file, like localhost/TestApp/public/htm/index.htm, I get back the file that is located there (in HTML, as expected). Also, if I try and do a server call (e.g. localhost/TestApp/GetUsernames).

What's even more interesting is that if I mess up the port (e.g. app.listen(process.env.PORT2 );), I get this when I try and access localhost/TestApp.js:

> iisnode encountered an error when processing the request.
> 
> HRESULT: 0x2 HTTP status: 500 HTTP reason: Internal Server Error

If the port is correct (app.listen(process.env.PORT2);), I get Cannot GET /TestApp/app.js, so it does look like IISNode is executing app.js (how else would it be failing when I mess up the port), but nothing seems to be working.

How might I fix this, or at least diagnose the problems?

Thank you.

Answer 1

You probably need to add a <rewrite> section to clarify how to route the requests:

<rewrite>
        <rules>
            <!-- Don't interfere with requests for node-inspector debugging -->
            <rule name="NodeInspector" patternSyntax="ECMAScript" stopProcessing="true">
                <match url="^server.js\/debug[\/]?" />
            </rule>

            <!-- First we consider whether the incoming URL matches a physical file in the /public folder -->
            <rule name="StaticContent">
                <action type="Rewrite" url="public{REQUEST_URI}" />
            </rule>

            <!-- All other URLs are mapped to the Node.js application entry point -->
            <rule name="DynamicContent">
                <conditions>
                    <add input="{REQUEST_FILENAME}" matchType="IsFile" negate="True" />
                </conditions>
                <action type="Rewrite" url="server.js" />
            </rule>
        </rules>
    </rewrite>

Pulled from an example Azure node.js app.