Method of operation of the proxy server?

A proxy server is simply a server that sits between one network and another and acts as an intermediary. A typical configuration is a proxy server sitting on the edge of a network that is connected to the Internet and intercepts client requests and then forwards them on, and receives responses and forwards them back to the client.

A proxy server can fulfill a number of functions, ranging from performance, to privacy, to security. To give some examples of each…

performance – a caching proxy server keeps a local cache of frequently accessed web pages. If client A goes to yahoo.com the caching proxy server will keep a copy of the page locally. If client B goes to yahoo.com a minute later, the proxy server will give client B it’s cached copy very quickly without having to go out to the Internet to retrieve it.

privacy – A corporation may wish to have a proxy server in front of it’s clients so that other machines or individuals on the internet cannot identify and target individual client machines. Since the proxy acts as an intermediary, the client machines are never directly exposed to the Internet.

security – A proxy server can run virus and malware scanning software. A corporate network may run this to ensure that files that are emailed, FTPed, or otherwise entering the corporate network are scanned as not to cause a virus outbreak or malware situation, both of which can be a nightmare in a several hundred to several thousand client network.

There are likely other very good reasons to run a proxy server, they are quite flexible and can address a number of issues.

Thanks for your help