How to secure AD360 and its integrated products using a reverse proxy.

A reverse proxy is a proxy service that handles requests from clients, forwards them to the necessary servers, and subsequently delivers the servers’ responses to clients without revealing the identity of the servers. AD360 comes bundled with a reverse proxy server, which, when enabled, provides an additional protective layer for AD360 and the products integrated with it.

AD360 lets you enable:

• Context-based reverse proxies.
• Port-based reverse proxies.
• Or both.

This webpage will explain the steps involved in configuring AD360 to act as a reverse proxy server.

How a reverse proxy works.

In a context-based reverse proxy, the URL of the AD360 server and the servers in which its constituent products are installed should be given a unique context path. Whenever a user requests access, the request is forwarded to the respective servers based on the context path in the URL. The end users will not know the details of the servers from which they are accessing the products.

In a port-based reverse proxy, you need to choose a unique port number and protocol for AD360 and its product servers. In this case, a unique port number for each servers is mandatory, whereas specifying the unique protocol is optional. The hostname remains the same for all servers. In such cases, the reverse proxy server will forward a user's request to the appropriate server based on the port number in the URL and the protocol.

Note: The hostname of the AD360 server will serve as the hostname for the integrated products’ servers when the reverse proxy is enabled.

Steps to enable a reverse proxy.

Configuring context-based reverse proxies.

• Log in to the AD360 console as an administrator.
• Navigate to Admin → Administration → Reverse Proxy.
• Click the Context-based tab, and check the box for Enable context-based reverse proxy.
• In the Protocol and Port drop-down fields, select the required protocol and port number. Make sure the port number is not being used by other applications.
• Now, for AD360 and each of its integrated products, enter a context path under the Context column. The context path must be unique to each product.
• Make a copy of the access URLs for AD360 and each of its products. Users can utilize these URLs to access necessary products.
• Click Save Settings.

Configuring port-based reverse proxies.

• Log in to the AD360 console as an administrator.
• Navigate to Admin → Administration → Reverse Proxy.
• Click the Port-based tab, and check the box for Enable port-based reverse proxy.
• In the Protocol column, select a protocol for AD360 and its products.
• In the Port column, enter a port number for AD360 and its products. The port number must be unique to each server.
• Make a copy of the access URLs for AD360 and each of its products. Users can utilize these URLs to access necessary products.
• Click Save Settings.