Securing the Perimeter: Deploying Identity and Access Management with Free Open Source Software

© Michael Schwartz, Maciej Machulak 2018

Michael Schwartz and Maciej MachulakSecuring the Perimeterhttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-2601-8_6

6. Proxy

Michael Schwartz¹  and Maciej Machulak²

(1)

Austin, TX, USA

(2)

London, UK

 

A proxy is a web server middle-man. It receives an HTTP request from a client, forwards it to another web server, and after receiving a response, returns it to the client (see Figure 6-1). Proxies should be “transparent,” meaning they don’t impact either the client or the backend web service.

Figure 6-1

Proxy overview

In some cases, the proxy uses a path to map the upstream web service. For example, consider the URL https://www.example.com/myService ...