Implementing Proxy Server

Designing a Proxy Server Implementation

Before you can design a Proxy Server implementation and install Proxy Server, you need to be knowledgeable on a number of concepts:

To design a Proxy Server implementation, there are a number of factors that has an impact on the Proxy Server design:

After you have looked at all the factors which impact the Proxy Server design, you have to determine, or select between a few additional design elements:

You can create a Proxy Server design where frequently requested content is cached. Proxy Server can locally cache Internet sites and files which are frequently requested. Subsequent requests for these Internet sites are then serviced from the local cache. Cached information is accessed by users from a location on the Local Area Network (LAN). This design has a number of benefits. For instance, bandwidth utilization to the Internet ends up being reduced because cached information does not need to be downloaded from the Internet. All of this leads to an improvement in the service experienced by users.
With passive caching, Proxy Server stores objects in the Proxy Server cache with each object obtaining a Time To Live (TTL) value. Before Proxy Server forwards requests to the Internet, it first checks the Proxy Server cache to determine if the request can be serviced from there. Active caching works together with passive caching. With active caching, Proxy Server automatically generates requests for specific objects in the Proxy Server cache so that frequently requested objects remain cached.

The requirements for creating a Proxy Server design that caches content are listed here:

You should place proxy servers using their purpose or function as the basis to determine placement. This concept is illustrated here:

The following information has to be defined for every interface in the Proxy Server implementation:

Another component that should be included when you plan your Proxy Server implementation is to determine the client operating systems that Proxy Server should support. Proxy Server can support a number of different client operating systems.

You should define Proxy Server client support based on what your Proxy Server implementation should provide:

Another planning component that should be included when you design your Proxy Server implementation is to determine the level of data protection that should be configured.

The default configuration of Proxy Server is to drop the URL requests of Internet users. This means that Internet users do not have access to Web and FTP servers hosted within the private network, by default. You can though define URLs where requests for these URLs should be passed to Web and FTP servers on the private network. Proxy Server will allow URL requests when you define them in the Web Publishing list.

For URLs that are requested which are defined in the Web Publishing list, Proxy Server passes the requests to the Web and FTP servers on the private network.

For URLs that are requested which are not defined in the Web Publishing list, Proxy Server performs either of the following:

There are also a number of techniques that optimize Proxy Server performance, which you should consider implementing:

The advantages of using proxy arrays as a Proxy Server optimization method when you implement Proxy Server are listed here:

The advantages of using Network Load Balancing (NLB) as a Proxy Server optimization method when you implement Proxy Server are listed here:

The advantages of using Round Robin DNS as a Proxy Server optimization method when you implement Proxy Server are listed here:

If you need to provide the highest possible level of server availability for your Proxy Server implementation, you should use Microsoft Windows Clustering. Using Microsoft Windows Clustering provides the following benefits for your Proxy Server implementation:

To optimize Internet access, you can include the following Proxy Server caching methods in your Proxy Server design:

Determining Proxy Server Hardware and Software Requirements

Proxy Server has a few minimum hardware and software implementation requirements. However, depending on the size of the organization, existing hardware and software, future network expansion, and expected traffic volumes; the Proxy Server implementation requirements between organizations would differ. For each different network environment, there are different requirements for a Proxy Server implementation.

The requirements listed below merely serves as a guideline on the hardware requirements for a Proxy Server implementation:

When planning a Proxy Server implementation, you have to decide on the hardware that you will used to establish connections to the Internet:

You also have to decide on the hardware which will be utilized to connect the server to the Internet:

Installing Proxy Server

You should verify a number of things before you actually install Proxy Server:

When Proxy Server is installed, the following changes are made to the computer on which you are installing it:

How to install Proxy Server

  1. On the Proxy Server installation CD, proceed to run Setup.
  2. Click Continue on the Welcome to the Microsoft Proxy Server Installation program screen.
  3. The Microsoft Proxy Server Setup page opens.
  4. Specify the 10-digit product key provided on the CD-ROM case. Click OK.
  5. The Microsoft Proxy Server Setup dialog box displays the default destination folder and the Installation Options button. Click the Installation Options button.
  6. The Microsoft Proxy Server - Installation Options dialog box opens, displaying all components as being selected. Click Continue.
  7. Setup now stops the Web services.
  8. The Microsoft Proxy Server Cache Drives dialog box opens. Caching is by default enabled.
  9. The local drives of the server are listed in the Drive box.
  10. Select the drive which should be used to store cached data. In the Maximum Size (MB) box, enter the appropriate value. Click Set, and then click OK.
  11. The Local Address Table Configuration dialog box opens.
  12. Click the Construct Table button.
  13. The Construct Local Address Table dialog box opens.
  14. Select Load from NT internal Routing Table to select the network adapter cards thats IP addresses must be added to the local address table.
  15. Select the Load known address ranges from the following IP interface cards option, and then select the network adapter. Click OK.
  16. Click OK to acknowledge the message displayed, indicating that the IP addresses have been loaded into the local address table.
  17. The Local Address Table Configuration dialog box opens, displaying IP addresses in the Internal IP Ranges box.
  18. Check that the addresses defined are correct, and then click OK.
  19. The Client Installation/Configuration dialog box opens.
  20. Enter the appropriate information and verify that the correct computer name is displayed in the Computer name field and Proxy field.
  21. If you enable the Automatically configure Web browser during client setup checkbox, the Web browser network configuration setting of the client is changed so that client requests are sent to the Proxy Server, and not to the Internet.
  22. Click Configure.
  23. You can either run the default script to configure the client Web browser, or alternatively, you can use a custom URL.
  24. Click Properties located beneath Browser automatic configuration script.
  25. The Advanced Client Configuration dialog box opens.
  26. Specify whether the Proxy Server is utilized for local servers.
  27. Specify the IP addresses that should be excluded from Proxy Server.
  28. Specify the domains that should be excluded from Proxy Server.
  29. Specify a backup to the proxy server.
  30. Click OK.
  31. The Access Control dialog box opens.
  32. Verify that access control is specified for the Web Proxy service and for the WinSock Proxy service and then click OK.
  33. The Proxy Server Setup files are copied to the computer.
  34. When the Setup Information dialog box opens, click OK. The Setup Information dialog box displays information on the packet filtering feature. The packet filtering feature is not automatically enabled when Proxy Server is installed. Click OK.
  35. A Proxy Server 2.0 Setup was completed successfully message is displayed.

How to install WinSock Proxy Client on client computers

When you install WinSock Proxy Client on client computers, the following changes are made:

To install WinSock Proxy Client on a client computer;

  1. Open Internet Explorer
  2. In the Address box, enter http://proxycomputername/msproxy.
  3. The WinSock Proxy Client 2.0 Installation page is displayed.
  4. To install WinSock Proxy Client, click WinSock Proxy 2.0 client.
  5. Click the Open it option and click OK.
  6. The Microsoft Proxy Client Setup dialog box opens.
  7. Click Continue to proceed with the installation.
  8. Click Install Microsoft Proxy Client to start copying Setup files to the client computer.
  9. Click OK.
  10. The Setup - Restart System dialog box opens.
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  12. Click the Restart Windows Now option.

How to add or remove Proxy Server components

  1. On the Proxy Server installation CD, proceed to run Setup.
  2. Click Add/Remove on the Setup screen.
  3. Follow the instructions displayed to add or remove Proxy Server components.

How to restore Proxy Server settings or files

  1. On the Proxy Server installation CD, proceed to run Setup.
  2. Click Reinstall on the Setup screen.
  3. Follow the instructions displayed to restore Proxy Server settings/files.

How to remove Proxy Server from the server

  1. On the Proxy Server installation CD, proceed to run Setup.
  2. Click Remove All on the Setup screen.
  3. Click Yes to acknowledge that you want to remove Proxy Server.
  4. Proxy Server is then removed from the server.

How to disable WinSock Proxy Client

  1. Open Control Panel.
  2. Double-click WSP Client.
  3. Deselect the Enable WinSock Proxy Client checkbox.
  4. Restart the computer.

How to re-enable the WinSock Proxy Client

  1. Open control Panel.
  2. Double-click WSP Client.
  3. Check the Enable WinSock Proxy Client checkbox.
  4. Restart the computer.

Administering Proxy Server using the Internet Service Manager

You can use the Internet Service Manager to configure properties for the Web Proxy, WinSock Proxy, and Socks Proxy services of Proxy Server.

To open the Internet Service Manager;

  1. Click Start, click Programs, click Microsoft Proxy Server, and then click Internet Service Manager.
  2. You can open the properties of specific Proxy Server service by double-clicking the computer name displayed alongside the particular service name.

There are some properties settings which are common for all three Proxy Server services, and there are others that are relevant for only a particular Proxy Server service. This concept is illustrated here.

The configuration settings which you can view and configure on the Service tab for each of the three Proxy Server services are listed below:

The configuration settings which you can view and configure on the Permissions tab for the Web Proxy and WinSock Proxy services are listed below:

The configuration settings which you can view and configure on the Permissions tab for the Socks Proxy are:

How to disable IP routing (control access to the private network)

  1. Open Control Panel
  2. Double-click Network.
  3. The Network dialog box opens.
  4. Click the Protocols tab.
  5. Select TCP/IP, and click Properties.
  6. The TCP/IP Properties dialog box opens.
  7. Switch to the Routing tab.
  8. Ensure that the Enable IP Forwarding checkbox is not selected (blank).
  9. Click OK.

How to configure publishing configuration settings for the Web Proxy service

  1. Open Internet Service Manager.
  2. Double-click the computer name alongside the Web Proxy service.
  3. The Web Proxy Service Properties dialog box opens.
  4. Click the Publishing tab.
  5. Select the Enable Web publishing checkbox.
  6. If you want to drop all incoming Web server requests, click the Discard option.
  7. If you want to forward all incoming Web server requests to IIS on the Proxy Server computer, click the Sent to the local Web server option.
  8. If you want forward all incoming Web server requests to a specific downstream server, click the Sent to another Web server option.
  9. If you want to configure the default Web server host, click Default Mapping.
  10. The Default Local Host Name dialog box opens.
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  12. Provide the name of the default server. Click OK.
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  14. Click Apply and click OK.

How to enable dynamic packet filtering

  1. Open Internet Service Manager.
  2. Double-click the computer name alongside the Web Proxy service.
  3. The Web Proxy Service Properties dialog box opens.
  4. Click the Security button on the Service tab.
  5. Click the Packet Filters tab.
  6. On the Packet Filters tab, click the Enable packet filtering on external interface checkbox.
  7. Select the Enable dynamic packet filtering of Microsoft Proxy Server packets checkbox.
  8. Click OK.
  9. Click OK in the Web Proxy Service Properties dialog box.

How to create a packet filter using predefined protocol definitions

  1. Open Internet Service Manager.
  2. Double-click the computer name alongside the Web Proxy service.
  3. The Web Proxy Service Properties dialog box opens.
  4. Click the Security button on the Service tab.
  5. Click the Packet Filters tab.
  6. On the Packet Filters tab, click Add.
  7. When the Packet Filter Properties dialog box opens, click the Predefined filter option.
  8. Select a protocol from the available Protocol ID list.
  9. In the Local host area of the Packet Filter Properties dialog box, select the appropriate option to allow packet exchange with a host.
  10. In the Remote host area of the Packet Filter Properties dialog box, specify one host or the Any host option.
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  12. Click OK.

How to create a packet filter using custom protocol definitions

  1. Open Internet Service Manager.
  2. Double-click the computer name alongside the Web Proxy service.
  3. The Web Proxy Service Properties dialog box opens.
  4. Click the Security button on the Services tab.
  5. Click the Packet Filters tab.
  6. On the Packet Filters tab, click Add.
  7. When the Packet Filter Properties dialog box opens, click the Custom filter option.
  8. Select a protocol from the available Protocol ID list.
  9. Select a direction from the Direction list.
  10. Select an option from the available options in the Local port area.
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  12. Select either the Any option or Fixed port option in the Remote port area.
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  14. In the Local host area of the Packet Filter Properties dialog box, select the appropriate option to allow packet exchange with a host.
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  16. In the Remote host area of the Packet Filter Properties dialog box, specify one host or the Any host option.
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  18. Click OK.

How to change the packet filter list entries

  1. Open Internet Service Manager.
  2. Double-click the computer name alongside the Web Proxy service.
  3. The Web Proxy Service Properties dialog box opens.
  4. Click the Security button on the Service tab.
  5. On the Packet Filters tab, click the Enable packet filtering on external interface checkbox.
  6. Select the Enable dynamic packet filtering of Microsoft Proxy Server packets checkbox to enable dynamic packet filtering.
  7. Click the Edit button.
  8. The Packet Filter Properties dialog box opens. Change the necessary settings and then click OK.
  9. If you want to remove a filter, click the Remove button.
  10. Click OK.

How to configure Proxy Server logging

  1. Open Internet Service Manager.
  2. Double-click the computer name alongside the Web Proxy service.
  3. The Web Proxy Service Properties dialog box opens.
  4. Click the Security button on the Service tab.
  5. Click the Logging tab.
  6. Click the Enable logging using checkbox.
  7. Select the appropriate format in the Format list box.
  8. Click OK.

How to back up a Proxy Server configuration

  1. Open Internet Service Manager.
  2. On the View menu item, click Servers View.
  3. Double-click the computer name, and then double-click Web Proxy (Running).
  4. The Web Proxy Service Properties opens.
  5. Click the Service tab.
  6. In the Configuration area, click Server Backup.
  7. When the Backup dialog box opens, verify the information shown on where the backup file will be saved
  8. Click OK to create a back up of the Proxy Server configuration.

How to restore a Proxy Server configuration

  1. Open Internet Service Manager.
  2. Double-click the computer name, and then double-click Web Proxy service.
  3. The Web Proxy Service Properties opens.
  4. Click the Service tab.
  5. In the Configuration area, click Server Restore.
  6. When the Restore Configuration dialog box opens, click the Browse button to select the Proxy Server configuration file.
  7. Select the Proxy Server configuration file that you want to use for the restore.
  8. Click Open.
  9. Select the Full Restore option.
  10. When the Restore Configuration dialog box opens, click OK to start the restore of the Proxy Server configuration.


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