Setting up the proxy server

A proxy server is a specific type of application server that routes HTTP requests to content servers that perform the work. You can classify a proxy server according to the role that it plays in a system. This specific proxy server is classified as a reverse proxy server because the main function is to act as the first point of contact, not including the firewall, for client requests into the enterprise server. By contrast, a forward proxy server acts as the first point of contact for outbound traffic.

Before you begin

Review the topic that describes how to select a front end for your WebSphere® Application Server topology. This topic helps you determine whether you should set up a web server plug-in, a proxy server, or a secure proxy server to provide session affinity, failover support, and workload balancing for your WebSphere Application Server topology.

If you are familiar with the functionality of the legacy proxy server that existed in versions of the product prior to Version 6.0, review the following list of functions that were available in the legacy proxy server but are not available in the current proxy server:
  • Forward proxy configuration, including SSL tunneling, transparent proxy, and FTP protocol
  • Request URI rewrite (response URI rewrite is available)
  • Authentication and authorization on the proxy server
  • NCSA combined logging
  • Custom logging
  • Cache sharing
  • Common Gateway Interface (CGI)

About this task

The proxy server acts as a surrogate for content servers within the enterprise. As a surrogate, you can configure the proxy server with rules to route to and load balance the clusters of content servers. The proxy server is also capable of securing the transport, using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), and the content using various authentication and authorization schemes. Another important feature is its capability to protect the identity of the content servers from the web clients by using response transformations (URL rewriting). The proxy server can also improve performance by caching content locally and by protecting the content servers from surges in traffic.

A proxy server configuration provides settings that control how a proxy server can provide services for the enterprise applications and their components. This section describes how to create and configure proxy servers in an existing application server environment.

Overview of the proxy server

In Version 6.0.2 of the product, you had to augment the deployment manager profile to manage the proxy server. For Version 6.1 and higher, the proxy server is managed from the administrative console without initial augmentation.

Procedure

What to do next

  • Create proxy servers in the cell.
  • Deploy applications to the proxy server.
    [z/OS]Avoid trouble: All proxy server processes are performed in the controller because you cannot configure a servant for a proxy server. Therefore, because application modules cannot be deployed into a controller, you cannot deploy an application module into a proxy server. If an application that you are running on a proxy server includes an application module, such as a module that serves an error page if a proxy server routing error occurs, that application module must be deployed to the servant of an application server with which the proxy server can communicate, instead of to the proxy server.