4. Issues with Websockets

Scalability Challenges

• WebSockets require maintaining a persistent connection for each client.
• This means the server has to handle a large number of open connections, which can consume significant resources.
• Scaling WebSocket-based applications often requires additional infrastructure like load balancers and WebSocket-aware proxies.

Resource Management

• Servers need to manage memory and CPU usage carefully for each open WebSocket connection.
• If connections aren’t properly closed when clients disconnect, they can lead to resource leaks (e.g., memory leaks).

Network Stability

• WebSockets depend on a stable network connection.
• If the client or server loses connectivity, the connection is broken, and the application must handle reconnections.
• Poor handling of disconnections can lead to degraded user experiences.

Security Concerns

• WebSockets don’t have built-in mechanisms for authentication or encryption.
• It’s up to the developer to ensure:
  • Connections are established over wss:// (WebSocket Secure) for encryption.
  • Authentication tokens or credentials are validated before allowing access to the WebSocket.

Browser Compatibility

• While WebSockets are widely supported, older browsers or specific environments may not support them.
• Developers need to provide fallbacks (e.g., polling or SSE) for full compatibility.

Debugging and Monitoring

• Debugging WebSocket communications is harder compared to traditional HTTP requests.
• Tools like browser dev tools and server-side monitoring frameworks are necessary but may not cover all edge cases.
• Monitoring active connections and message flows requires additional tooling or libraries.

Use Case Limitations

• WebSockets are overkill for applications that don’t require constant, real-time updates.
• Implementing WebSockets for infrequent updates can complicate the architecture without significant benefits.

Example

• Consider a stock price tracker using WebSockets. If hundreds of thousands of users connect simultaneously, the server needs to handle all those open connections efficiently. Without proper infrastructure, it can lead to server crashes or performance issues.