Joe Touch wrote:
> Dunno - can a proxy do anything besides cache? (it seems so).
Yes. A proxy can do any number of things. It is a middle hand in the
request chain, and can besides forwarding requests implement
* Redirection to another server
* Caching
* Request modification
* Response modification
* Virus filtering
* and a number of other things which may be handled by a middle-hand.
All these uses fit in the definition of the general term proxy. This is
why RFC2616 defines the term "transparent proxy" as a proxy which does
not modify the request/response outside what is required by forwarding
the request.
> In that case there could be a reverse proxy that (e.g.)
> redirects, but doesn't cache.
Yes, and in my world that is the common definition of a reverse proxy
A proxy which receives requests on behalf of the origin server and
forwards them towards the origin server.
The most important aspect for a reverse proxy is "on behalf", which
implies that is is set up by and under the administrative control of the
content provider.
Reverse proxies often also function as application level firewalls in
front of a origin servers to sanitize and filter out "bad" requests
before received by the origin server.
reverse-proxy is a term being actively used today.
-- Henrik Nordstrom
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Nov 18 2004 - 11:21:27 MST