I'm not sure if understanding HTTP/1.1 is enough to bridge a websocket connection between client and backend websocket server. However, there is a 3rd party tcp proxy module for nginx that allows proxying websockets:
I recommend using Server-Sent Events instead. You get nearly same API for realtime server->client push, and they're HTTP-compatible:
http://html5doctor.com/server-sent-events/ http://speakerdeck.com/u/pornel/p/server-sent-events