OpenLayers 2, JSON vector through WFS

Question

Consider this example,

https://geoext.github.io/geoext2/examples/grid/feature-grid.html

It uses

protocol: new OpenLayers.Protocol.HTTP({
                url: "../data/summits.json",
                format: new OpenLayers.Format.GeoJSON()
            })

for the locations and elevations of some mountains. There are three properties: name (string), height (long), and geometry (point).

What I want to do is put the json file onto GeoServer and call it that way. I imported the file into GeoServer, and I know it works because I can see it with a WFS url. But I'm trying to load it with the code

var vecLayer = new OpenLayers.Layer.Vector("vector", {
    styleMap: new OpenLayers.StyleMap({
        'default': style
    }),
    strategies: [new OpenLayers.Strategy.Fixed() ],
    protocol: new OpenLayers.Protocol.WFS({
        readFormat: new OpenLayers.Format.GeoJSON(),
        url: "http://fakeurl.com/geoserver/wfs",
        srsName: "EPSG:4326",
        featureNS: "http://fakeurl.com/geoext/geonodeuri",
        featureType: "summits",
        outputFormat: "json",
        version: "1.1.0"
   })
});

I know that url, featureNS, and featureType are all correct because I can successfully add other shapefile vectors in the same workspace with them. I'm quite stumped as far as getting the WFS protocol to work, however. Do I need to set geometryName or something? GeoServer lists three properties, and I need all three of them. Ideally I would get the exact same result as the simple OpenLayers.Protocol.HTTP protocol.

---

If I put the JSON file in a web directory and do an HTTP protocol to it, it works. Which is to say,

protocol: new OpenLayers.Protocol.HTTP({
                url: "http://fakeurl/data/summits.json",
                format: new OpenLayers.Format.GeoJSON()
            })

displays just fine. However, when I link to a WFS Getfeature request, like

protocol: new OpenLayers.Protocol.HTTP({
                url: "http://fakeurl/geoserver/wfs?service=WFS&version=1.0.0&request=GetFeature&typeName=geonode:summits&maxFeatures=50",
                format: new OpenLayers.Format.GeoJSON()
            })

I get no result. But the url provided displays the JSON file in a browser. I don't understand. I just want some way of getting those contents via GeoServer, but it continues to elude me.

---

turns out there's something wrong with the layer itself. I can view the JSON data through a link but only if I'm logged into Geoserver. If I'm not logged in, then I get a "Could not find layer" message. So I guess that's my issue: why data imported in GeoServer it not made public (my JSON), but a layer through Geonode is.

Answer 1

Alright, problem solved. I'd installed a package called geoserver-geonode. A security "feature" of the package makes it so only layers uploaded through GeoNode can be served up. Since I imported the JSON file through GeoServer's import extension, it was not allowed to be served. So I installed GeoServer and GeoNode packages separately and all is fine. (I also removed the JSON formatting and just went with the default GML format, as suggested.)