A proxy server is a specialized application server that routes HTTP requests to the content server that performs the work. You can classify proxy servers based on the role they play in your system. This particular proxy server is classified as a reverse proxy server because the primary function of this server is to serve as the first point of contact (not including the firewall) for client requests to enter the enterprise server. In contrast, a forward proxy server acts as the first point of contact for outbound traffic.
View the topic that describes how to select a front end for a WebSphere® Application Server topology. This topic helps you determine whether you should set up a Web server plug-in, proxy server, or secure proxy server to provide session affinity, failover support, and workload balancing for your WebSphere Application Server topology.
If you are familiar with the features of the old proxy server in product versions prior to V6.0, please review the following list of features that were available in the old proxy server but are not available in the current proxy server:
A proxy server is a proxy for content servers in an enterprise. As a proxy, you can configure rules on the proxy server for routing and load balancing across a cluster of content servers. Proxy servers are also able to use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to protect transmissions and can use various authentication and authorization schemes to protect content. Another important feature of a proxy server is its ability to use response transformation (URL rewriting) functionality to protect the content server identity against Web clients. Proxy servers also improve performance by caching content locally and protecting content servers from traffic surges.
Proxy server configuration provides settings that control how the proxy server provides services to enterprise applications and their components. This section describes how to create and configure a proxy server in an existing application server environment.
In version 6.0.2 of the product, the Deployment Manager profile must be extended to manage proxy servers. For Version 6.1 and later, the proxy server can be managed from the administrative console without initial expansion.
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