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To use a proxy on the Linux command-line, you can set the environment variables httpproxy, httpsproxy or ftpproxy, depending on the traffic type. These proxy server settings are used by the almost all Linux command-line utilities, e.g. Ftp, wget, curl, ssh, apt-get, yum and others. It doesn't make a lot of sense for us to re-purchase Wingate with more licenses as we only use a very small part of the overall package - the proxy server service. Therefore we're in the market for a replacement. Anyone hazard to list the top five proxy server applications or know of a website that reviews/discusses proxy servers?
We currently use WinGate but we've run out of licenses as well as having let the support agreement lapse (mainly because QBIK don't seem very interested in updating it). It doesn't make a lot of sense for us to re-purchase Wingate with more licenses as we only use a very small part of the overall package - the proxy server service.
Therefore we're in the market for a replacement. Anyone hazard to list the top five proxy server applications or know of a website that reviews/discusses proxy servers?
Ultimate steal microsoft office. We're aware of Squid which on paper looks perfect but I'd like to at least have a look at the other options.
BTW - the only primary reason we use a proxy server, as opposed to letting everyone out through the firewall, is because we use Citrix XenApp and using a proxy server is a way of allowing us to direct web traffic out via a different internet connection (gateway) than the one used for XenApp traffic itself. XenApp works well with low bandwidth but remote users really do notice latency. Therefore, keeping web browsing/download traffic off the link really helps with the user experience. I've always wondered that whilst proxy server solution works okay, there might be another way to achieve this, e.g. some software that directs XenApp traffic down one route but all other traffic (mainly HTTP port 80) down another gateway.
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closed as off-topic by Falcon Momot, Mark Henderson♦Jul 17 '13 at 3:02
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- 'Questions seeking product, service, or learning material recommendations are off-topic because they tend to become obsolete quickly. Instead, describe your situation and the specific problem you're trying to solve.' – Falcon Momot, Mark Henderson
2 Answers
As an admin at the university, I have been developing PortFusion for all operating systems to serve as an open-source, minimalistic, multi-protocol, distributed reverse / forward proxy.
It was first deployed in April 2011 and has since then enjoyed constant use and a major rewrite in May 2012. I and several colleagues are now actively using it for:
- Windows Remote Destkop (RDP)
- Remote Support with Desktop Sharing (VNC)
- the web presence of a company (HTTP) to serve numerous domains transparently via just a few gateway servers (using the IIS extensions URL Rewrite and Application Request Routing)
- and as a gateway solution for research project servers I am administering (HTTP, WCF, SSH, SFTP)
PortFusion is a very active project and can fully replace WinGate in your scenario as its proxy host can handle multiple proxy clients connected to different LANs concurrently:
Its deployment as a reverse proxy for HTTP could be as easy as:
You can then add as many further links as you wish for other services - please check further examples and illustrations here https://github.com/corsis/PortFusion/.
I would love to assist anyone interested in its deployment and offer free support to its users outside our campus :)
To sum up, with PortFusion you would get:
- no license fees as it is open source
- complete trust as you can see exactly what it is doing
- complete control as you can continue to manage your own gateway server
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I'd certainly recommend Squid on Linux/POSIX/Unix, however where I've used it previously I found it would slow down after running for a couple of weeks and needed to be restarted - but this was simple to schedule. Squid is available as a binary for Microsoft NT platforms - can't comment on how stable it is there.
I've always wondered that whilst proxy server solution works okay, there might be another way to achieve this
Proxy Server Software Linux Download
Yes - this is a fairly straightforward task. I would expect most routers to be capable of choosing a route based on the type of traffic. Again my experience is predominantly with Linux - where it's quite possible using iptables. Having said that, you do get the benefit of a shared cache with most proxies (including squid). Note that it is not possible to cache SSL traffic on a proxy.
While Apache's mod_proxy is also capable of providing the functionality you describe, I find squid easier to work with.
While there other other open-source proxy tools out there, unless you have a very specific requirement (e.g. SOCKs support, or offline browsing) there's not much point in looking any further than squid. There are also a huge number of add-ons to squid to support all sorts of things like content-filtering, Anti-Virus, authentication..
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