HA (High Availability) and Reverse Proxy Security From a Load Balancer

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Reverse proxy is a vitally important element within application infrastructures to provide an additional layer of security for server instances by retrieving resources on behalf of users located in untrusted zones as well as publishing services. Since load balancers are typically deployed to provide high availability and are, by their very nature, reverse proxy servers, they are often leveraged to handle both roles. For most applications, internet clients will only communicate with the reverse proxy server, shielding the identity of the individual application servers and reducing the number of potential attack vectors.

Because of the key role that they play, reverse proxy servers should always be deployed in high availability mode. If you are looking for a load balancer to handle reverse proxy for your network, here is what you will need:

  • SSL Key management functionality out of the box
  • Effective Layer 4-7 load balancing
  • Data compression capabilities
  • Optimized failover High Availability options
  • Content caching
  • Traffic re-encryption
  • A full range of scheduling and persistence methods

SSL Acceleration optimizes application delivery by moving the intensive process of SSL handshaking, key exchange and session establishment from application servers to the reverse proxy/load balancer where it can be completed quicker. This provides optimized performance for many applications including CRM, Messaging and Microsoft’s Unified Communication suite. Fast delivery is assured while parallel security is maintained at all times – thus helping to prevent security attacks. SSL Acceleration can be completed with the use of dedicated ASICs or in specialized software.

Content caching is also a key feature of reverse proxy/load balancers that enhances application performance and user experience by caching static elements accessed by users, such as complex login pages, reducing the number of requests that have to be sent to the backend web application servers. This reduces the load on the application instances and provides quicker response time for users.

Ready for high availability and security?

KEMP’s LoadMaster line of products provide advanced Layer 4-7 application delivery and reverse proxy functionality for application infrastructures whether they be deployed in on premise or cloud environments, providing customers with options on how and where they want to deploy.

All LoadMaster products include:

  • Free 1 month trial
  • 1 year of Basic (5×10) support included
  • Forum, email and web support
  • Application templates to simplify deployment
  • TMG Replacement feature pack (SSO, pre-authentication, persistent logging)
  • A library of technical information and advice from the MVP community and others
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Kemp Technologies

Kemp Technologies