ProxyServer

ProxyServer is a network service that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. It can operate as a forward proxy or a reverse proxy. A forward proxy sits between client devices and the Internet; clients configure their applications to route traffic through the proxy, which can enforce access policies, provide anonymity, and cache content to improve performance. A reverse proxy sits in front of one or more origin servers, handling incoming requests, performing tasks such as load balancing, TLS termination, caching, authentication, and security filtering, and then forwarding traffic to the appropriate backend.

Common capabilities include caching of responses, content filtering, authentication and authorization, and detailed logging. Proxies may also perform protocol translation, compression, or TLS termination, where encrypted traffic is decrypted at the proxy, inspected or modified, and then re-encrypted for backend servers. They can also act as gateways for VPNs or as rate-limiting points in a network.

Operational considerations include impact on latency, potential bottlenecks, and configuration complexity. Proxies can create single points of failure if not deployed redundantly, and misconfiguration can lead to data leaks or bypassed security controls. Privacy and compliance concerns center on logging, data retention, and user visibility.

Typical deployment contexts include enterprise network filtering, access control, and outbound Internet acceleration; content delivery optimization; and protecting origin servers from direct exposure. Software implementations range from dedicated products (for example, Squid, Nginx, HAProxy) to built-in reverse proxy capabilities in web servers.