node.js distinguishing errors when making http request - node.js

Question

My node.js application is using http.request to the REST API http://army.gov/launch-nukes and I need to distinguish between three possible cases:
Success -- The server replies in the affirmative. I know my enemies are destroyed.
Failure -- Either I have received error from the server, or was unable to connect to server. I still have enemies.
Unknown -- After establishing a connection to the server, I have sent the request -- but not sure what happened. This could mean the request never made it to the server, or the server response to me never made it. I may or may not have just started a world war.
As you can see, it's very important for me to distinguish the Failure and Unknown case, as they have very different consequences and different actions I need to take.
I would also very much like to use http Keep-Alive -- as what can I say, I'm a bit of a war-monger and plan on making lots of requests in bursts (and then nothing for long periods of time)
--
The core of the question is how to separate a connection-error/time-out (which is a Failure) from an error/timeout that occurs after the request is put on the wire (which is an Unknown).
In psuedo-code logic I want this:
var tcp = openConnectionTo('army.gov') // start a new connection, or get an kept-alive one
tcp.on('error', FAILURE_CASE);
tcp.on('connectionEstablished', function (connection) {
var req = connection.httpGetRequest('launch-nukes');
req.on('timeout', UNKNOWN_CASE);
req.on('response', /* read server response and decide FAILURE OR SUCCESS */);
}
)

Answer 1

Here is an example:
var http = require('http');
var options = {
hostname: 'localhost',
port: 7777,
path: '/',
method: 'GET'
};
var req = http.request(options, function (res) {
// check the returned response code
if (('' + res.statusCode).match(/^2\d\d$/)) {
// Request handled, happy
} else if (('' + res.statusCode).match(/^5\d\d$/))
// Server error, I have no idea what happend in the backend
// but server at least returned correctly (in a HTTP protocol
// sense) formatted response
}
});
req.on('error', function (e) {
// General error, i.e.
// - ECONNRESET - server closed the socket unexpectedly
// - ECONNREFUSED - server did not listen
// - HPE_INVALID_VERSION
// - HPE_INVALID_STATUS
// - ... (other HPE_* codes) - server returned garbage
console.log(e);
});
req.on('timeout', function () {
// Timeout happend. Server received request, but not handled it
// (i.e. doesn't send any response or it took to long).
// You don't know what happend.
// It will emit 'error' message as well (with ECONNRESET code).
console.log('timeout');
req.abort();
});
req.setTimeout(5000);
req.end();
I recommend you play with it using netcat, ie.:
$ nc -l 7777
// Just listens and does not send any response (i.e. timeout)
$ echo -e "HTTP/1.1 200 OK\n\n" | nc -l 7777
// HTTP 200 OK
$ echo -e "HTTP/1.1 500 Internal\n\n" | nc -l 7777
// HTTP 500
(and so on...)