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proxy server Last modified: Wednesday, June 07, 2006
A server that sits between a client application, such as a Web browser, and a real server. It intercepts all requests to the real server to see if it can fulfill the requests itself. If not, it forwards the request to the real server. Proxy servers have two main purposes: Improve Performance: Proxy servers can dramatically improve performance for groups of users. This is because it saves the results of all requests for a certain amount of time. Consider the case where both user X and user Y access the World Wide Web through a proxy server. First user X requests a certain Web page, which we'll call Page 1. Sometime later, user Y requests the same page. Instead of forwarding the request to the Web server where Page 1 resides, which can be a time-consuming operation, the proxy server simply returns the Page 1 that it already fetched for user X. Since the proxy server is often on the same network as the user, this is a much faster operation. Real proxy servers support hundreds or thousands of users. The major online services such as America Online, MSN and Yahoo, for example, employ an array of proxy servers. Filter Requests: Proxy servers can also be used to filter requests. For example, a company might use a proxy server to prevent its employees from accessing a specific set of Web sites. See the Server Types page in the quick reference section of Webopedia for a comparison of server types.
Caching Proxy Servers Describes what a proxy server is and how it works. Includes some advantages and disadvantages as well as notes on implementation. Overview of Web Proxy Servers Describes what a Web proxy server is, how they are used, and information about communication. Sharing Cable Modems Good resource for information on sharing a cable modem connection with multiple computers. Contains clear, easy-to-follow instructions for both the PC and Mac, as well as other related resources. WinProxy Product Information Home page for Ositis Software, developer of the WinProxy firewall proxy server. World Wide Web Proxies W3C document on the history of proxy servers. Yahoo!'s proxy servers page Yahoo!'s directory of proxy servers. Open Networks Today Networking news moves at a fast pace, and Open Networks Today lets you keep up with it. Open Networks Today offers its readers the ability to control how news is presented through customizing content filters, discussions, and news feed links. PracticallyNetworked.com PracticallyNetworked.com provides easy-to-understand help for small-network builders. The site contains how-to information for setting up and debugging home-office and small-business networks. Users can also find extensive troubleshooting information, tips on getting applications to work through firewalls, product reviews on network hardware and software, and more. PracticallyNetworked.com Discussion Forums If network connections, sharing computers, router problems or other networking issues are bogging you down, then the PracticallyNetworked.com discussion forum is the place to be. Here you'll find help and support for all your network-related problems. ServerWatch Proxy Server Page Offers in-depth news and reviews of proxy servers. The Truth About Servers What makes a server a server? Is there a difference between an e-mail server and a messaging server? Should a firewall be considered a server in certain circumstances? These questions and more are answered in an extensive tutorial that cuts through the marketing hype and explains the basics of key server types.	Related Categories Networks Servers Related Terms application gateway firewall gateway ICS network-attached storage proxy cache remote access server server server farm SOCKS staging server transcoding Web server WPAD