sorry for the stupid question but I need to make a decision on the backend stack for a mobile application, and I feel really tempted to use Node-red just because I absolutely love it and came to understand the node-red flow methodology much better than the standard expressjs stacks ways.. with that in mind can i rollout the requirement much quicker ( and I know how to fix and scale it), unfortunately, will it be able to handle millions of API calls / web endpoints per day when its required to do?
I guess my question is, will Node-red be able to function and perform on raw expressjs level and be used as a web server backend to handle API calls from possibly thousands of mobile apps?
Looking out for your replays. thank you in advance!!
Peter don't know where your based but these guys have built an consumer mobile app with Node-RED as back-end stack for a major UK retailer Halfords https://www.redconnect.io/
I really want to use Node-red because I understand It, I just don't want to use it to do it all over in a few months from now, and major expenses and create a huge disappointment in my decision at the client.
@iiLaw , I did review the links site and seems like a cloud "white label of node-red". ? what are your thoughts. the site doesn't say much except that its use node-red and developers need to learn node-red to use it. ?
Err No it's not.
Nick O'Leary FlowForge CEO, is one the co-creators of Node-RED.
FlowForge and others they will continue to develop core NR
FF statement "Our goal is to incorporate as much of our work directly into the core project as possible. Where we do create closed-source components, we will work with the community to ensure the right APIs and extension points are in the core for all to benefit from."
No offence taken I've used NR for many years in an IoT/Industrial context but have worked for .dot com & global FMGC's. I would say NR is proven work horse for back end. The likes of Siemens, Ericsson & Hitachi use it in their cloud offerings. IMHO with FlowForge backing use of NR will certainly climb in the enterprise and app back-end space.
That's certainly one of our goals. I appreciate the website is light on details - we're still working on getting things ready to share with the world. But whatever we do aside, the wider point you make is equally valid; there are an ever growing number of companies using Node-RED in production. Just take a look at the showcase on the Node-RED homepage.
Node-RED is based on Express so from a technical/performance stand-point there won't be much difference.
What you need to keep in mind is scaling, if you are going to serve thousands of requests you will need to think about running multiple instances of Node-RED to have the load balanced.
This would also be true for a pure Express backend...
Hey @nlecaude, thanks for this great explanation. it surely isomerizes a lot for me. Now the question is, to whom can I have a quick discussion on how this build environment will look on AWS? ( commercial environment for many users to come hopefull y)
I really need to get my head around this and REALLY want to use NR for a backend. what are your thoughts or could anyone be so kind with an olive branch and point me in the right direction to speak with someone that knows his Stuff on backends and NR in the mix.
Just wondering how node-red can be scaled horizontally to address big loads.
I am thinking that this should happen by starting multiple instances of the same node-red application and assuring that traffic is load balanced amongst the different instances.
If your application is changing data or need to keep track of the user context then this should be considered so that it can be scaled horizontally by spinning up multiple instances.
