I'm trying since some days to find a way to configure simultaneous websocket and web server connections with one same Apache Web Server I have on a shared hosting basis. Now, before giving that up and definitely switching to a dedicated hosting contract with my host, I want to be sure that this is actually not possible.
What I've tried so far:
Installing a reverse proxy in front of my web server, and create websocket chat application (most likely in node.js, tried with ratchet in PHP, but node seems to be the better choice) on the same apache server, listening on a different port than the web server. Problem: I have no root access, so I can't change the port at which my apache web server is listening, meaning that I can't actually "place" my NGINX reverse proxy in front of my web server.
What may works, but I have no idea how that works:
I found out about https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/mod/mod_proxy_wstunnel.html, the extension for Websockets for Apache Servers, and may Apache version (2.4) of my web server would support that. However, can I actually 1) configure this extension without root access 2) use it to make simultaneous websocket & web server connections via my only apache web server work?
Thanks in advance for any help / other ways to may figure this out (guess the mod_proxy_wstunnel extension is kind of my last chane)!