Multiple server instances by using Hapi.js framework

Question

I'm approaching to this framework for node.js for several reasons. Simplicity, great modularity and a fast configuration out of the box. I have soon encountered the concept of Pack which I have never seen during my experience in the learning of express.js framework. From the official guide the following example:

var Good = require('good');

server.pack.register(Good, function (err) {
    if (err) {
        throw err; // something bad happened loading the plugin
    }

    server.start(function () {
        server.log('info', 'Server running at: ' + server.info.uri);
    });
});

They says about Pack:

Packs are a way for hapi to combine multiple servers into a single unit, and are designed to give a unified interface when working with plugins.

This concept is weird for me. How many times do we work with different servers in a project? In addition is not clear for me whether I should call pack every time to register a plugins in hapi.

Update: This is pre v8 api code, the way to register a plugin has been changed. (call register directly on the server)

Answer 1

This concept is weird for me. How many times do we work with different servers in a project?

One example is when you have an api and a web server. These are usually developed separately, often in separate repositories. You could then create a third project which combines these plugins:

var Hapi = require('hapi');

var manifest = {
  servers: [
    {
      host: 'localhost',
      port: 8000,
      options: {
        labels: 'api',
        cors: true
      }
    },
    {
      host: 'localhost',
      port: 8001,
      options: {
        labels: 'web'
      }
    }
  ],
  plugins: {
    './example-api': [{select: 'api'}],
    './example-web': [{select: 'web'}]
  }
};

Hapi.Pack.compose(manifest, function(err, pack) {
  pack.start();
});

In addition is not clear for me whether I should call ever time pack to register a plugins in hapi.

Yes, you need to call pack.register() when you want to register a plugin. However you can register more plugins at once:

plugin.register([
  require('crumb'),
  require('hapi-auth-cookie')
], function (err) {
  // Error handling
}