Web, Graphics & Perl/Tk Programming

Chapter 7. Proxying with mod_perl

Lincoln D. Stein

One of the darker secrets of the web protocols is how proxy servers work. In this article we plunge into the depths and show you how to write a proxy module for the Apache web server. This module will handle the proxy’s basic job of fetching web documents on your behalf and forwarding them to you, but with a twist: it acts as an advertisement filtering service.

An ordinary web server returns local documents in response to incoming requests. In contrast, a proxying server has elements of both server and client. Instead of sending the proxy server a request for a local document, the client requests the URL of a document located somewhere else on the Internet. The proxy then acts as a client itself by fetching the document and forwarding it to the waiting client.

Why Proxy?

What’s the purpose of this? Proxy servers have several uses. Historically the most important use for proxies was to allow web requests to cross firewalls. Many firewall systems are configured to prohibit port 80 traffic. In order to circumvent this restriction, administrators installed web server proxies on the firewall system. Users then configured their browsers to connect to the firewall machine for web access, and the proxy did the rest. Nowadays all commercial firewall systems come with built-in web proxies and it is no longer necessary to run a general purpose web server on the firewall (which was never much of a good idea for security reasons).

A second reason ...