What is a Proxy Server?

Connection to the Internet is a matter of course for many, but filtering the data traffic can be advantageous for a variety of reasons. A proxy server is used for this purpose, which can monitor connections in both directions.
 

What is a proxy server?

A proxy server is a relay station between a client like your computer and a web server or Internet from which you want to request data. The proxy server can be implemented as a program on your device or installed on your own server. This will be especially the case if the proxy server wants to monitor the data traffic for several clients.
 
 

What is a proxy server used for?

The main functions of a proxy are obfuscating, securing, and speeding up data transfers.

A request to a server is made by the proxy server, specifying its own IP address. With such a request, your IP address remains hidden from the webserver. You can, for example, bypass geo-blocking and access websites that are blocked for users in your country.

Proxy servers often have a cache in which they save the most recently loaded data. If this data is called up by other clients, the requests can be answered by the proxy server itself without having to send a new request to the external web server. This saves bandwidth, costs, and, above all, time. A proxy can also distribute the load and prevent overloading of the Internet access by a client.

The proxy server can examine the incoming data packets and filter out malicious programs. The corresponding rules can be individually adapted to the requirements of your network.
 

How it works: A call to a web page

Your client sends a request to the proxy server and it checks it. Such a test, for example, your company’s network does not forward requests to social media sites.

If this check is successful and the requested data is already in the cache of the proxy server, it will be forwarded to your client.

If the data in the cache is not available, the proxy server sends a request to the webserver using its own IP address. The server responds, the proxy server in turn checks the transmitted data, stores it in the cache, and sends it to your client.
 

 

The difference between generic and dedicated proxy servers

A generic proxy server can handle requests in different protocols. Examples are HTTP for web pages, SMTP for e-mail, and FTP for the transfer of files.

A dedicated proxy server only supports one of these protocols.
 

Forwarding and Reverse Proxies

A forwarding proxy server controls the data traffic of several local clients with other servers on the Internet. Such a proxy server shields these clients so that security systems for all these clients only have to be installed on the proxy server.

A reverse proxy server protects a web server, checks the requests, and only forwards the permissible ones to the webserver. A reverse proxy server can also carry out what is known as load balancing, i.e. distribute the incoming requests to several web servers depending on the load.
 

The difference between a visible and transparent proxy

A visible proxy server has an IP address that is known to the clients. These clients send their requests to this IP address, and the proxy then forwards the valid requests.

In the case of a transparent proxy, the requests are also handled by the proxy, but the clients address them directly to external web servers. The internal network is configured in such a way that all external inquiries go through a proxy without the clients even having to be aware of this.
 

Conclusion

The Internet is a dangerous place, which is why certain protective measures are useful. One of these steps is to load data from the Internet via a proxy server. A proxy server can be configured exactly the way the traffic in your network requires it.
 

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