proxy server

Definition 1

Server that stands between an external network (such as Internet) and an organization's internal (private) networks and serves as a firewall. It prevents external users from directly accessing the internal information resources, or even knowing their location. All external requests for information are intercepted by the proxy server and checked for their validity, and only authorized requests are passed on to the internal server. This security, however, comes at the cost of inconvenience to genuine users and slower performance.

Definition 2

Server that stores frequently requested information (documents or files) from elsewhere in the network and makes it available to the users. While this arrangement results in higher access speed, the information may be outdated if updating of the original document or file (stored on a different server) does not automatically updates the information in the proxy server.