I know that, now a days, homes, corporate intranet, and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) use proxy servers. Proxy serves as the bridge between the two ends of a client/server network connection.
A proxy server is a computer system or application that serves as an intermediary for request that comes from clients to other servers. It's function is to keep the machines that are behind it anonymous due to security purposes. It speeds up access to resources. It also helps in applying policies to networks, filtering of access to the ISP.
It helps in logging usage for companies to track there usage. It helps in bypassing usage. For example parental controls. It does scan content for Malware before delivery. It also scans outbound data, for example for the purposes of data leak detection.
We have three different types of proxies that is forward proxy, open and reverse proxy. All of them have different features and functionality. But basically they are all servers.
Proxy servers provide three main functions. The first one is that they have filtering capabilities which is relatively intelligent compared to that of ordinary routers. They can also filter based on application content inside the messages unlike ordinary firewalls that cannot see Web domain names inside the messages and ordinary router that can only filter by port number or network address.
The second is connection sharing. Proxy servers offer a more scalable and cost-effective alternative for shared Internet access. Rather than give each client computer a direct Internet connection, all internal connections can be funneled through one or more proxies that in turn connect to the outside.
And lastly, the caching of Web pages by proxy servers can improve a network's quality of service for it may conserve bandwidth on the network thus increasing scalability. It can also improve response time experienced by clients and the proxy server caches increases availability.
Hi,
A proxy server acts as a firewall, or indeed it is a firewall itself. With a proxy server on your intranet, you can determine which sites the users on the intranet for the purposes of safety and regulating against misuse of bandwidth for activities that may not be adding value to either your business or whichever function you set up the intranet for.
You can block sites like the ones users can use for streaming movies, an activity that will take up a lot of bandwidth and multiply then costs that you have to use to keep the intranet running.
You can also block access to sites like pornographic sites which some users may be tempted to watch or download those videos, which sometimes may come with Malware embedded in them. You can also block social medias if users waste time chatting online instead of concentrating on their tasks.
Regards,
Lee Hung.
Most company uses proxy servers for many reasons. Well, mainly because they want to communicate with their associates using a single pathway. This pathway is strictly used by themselves and nothing else. This proxy will let them use and follow this line without interruptions by someone else.
It allows them to communicate with the client and separate them from the world wide web. It filtered all computers that uses or connect to their network in the form of proxy IP Address.
Computers are allowed to connect to the Internet and have access to the client's intranet through this functions. It's pathway is used specifically by the computers connected to the network. It limits bandwidth and Internet usage, limits video stream and malware infections.
PROXY SERVERS KEY FUNCTIONS AND FEATURES
Introduction
A server is a device that is used to control the resources available on a network. There are different types of servers that exist but an example of a few are; file servers, database servers and print servers.
Definition
Proxy servers act on behalf of other clients and presents requests from other clients to a server. The proxy acts as a server interacting with a server.
Features and functions
Proxy servers have different features and functions many of them being that it acts as a Security intermediary between the client and the server. They may be separated by a security intermediary such as a firewall, with the proxy on the client’s side of the firewall.
Typically, the client is a part of a network secured by a firewall, and the server is external to the secured network. In this case the server must authenticate itself to the firewall to set up a connection with the proxy server. The proxy accepts responses after they have been passed through the firewall.
Where the client and server are running different versions of HTTP then the proxy can implement both versions and perform the required mapping.
In summary, a proxy is a forwarding agent, receiving a request for a URL abject, modifying request and forward that request toward the server identified in the URL.
