TCP Connection Proxying with HAProxy: A Beginner’s Guide

2025-10-03

Introduction

If you are a beginner system administrator or developer, you’ve probably faced the task of managing network traffic. One of the most powerful tools for this is HAProxy, a high-performance load balancer for TCP and HTTP.

In this article, we will cover:

• what TCP proxying is,
• why to use HAProxy,
• a sample configuration for beginners,
• security and monitoring tips.

What is TCP Proxying?

TCP Proxying is the forwarding of TCP connections from a client to a server (or group of servers) through an intermediary. Unlike an HTTP proxy that operates at the application layer, TCP proxying happens at the transport layer, making it universal for any TCP protocol: from databases to mail services.

029 | Proxy Servers in Action: HAProxy — High-Performance Load Balancer

2025-06-21

029 | Proxy Servers in Action: HAProxy — High-Performance Load Balancer⚡️🔗

In our series of articles on proxy servers, we’ve already discussed Nginx, a versatile tool combining the roles of a web server and a reverse proxy. Today, we’ll take a look at HAProxy (High Availability Proxy) — a specialized solution focused on a single but extremely important task: high-performance load balancing and ensuring high availability.

What is HAProxy?

HAProxy is free, open-source software that acts as a load balancer and reverse proxy for both TCP and HTTP protocols. It is designed to handle very large volumes of simultaneous connections and is a key component for building highly available and scalable web applications and services. HAProxy is often used as the “brain” in front of a group of servers, distributing incoming traffic among them.

028 | Proxy Servers in Action: Nginx — A Powerful Reverse Proxy and Web Server

2025-06-20

In the previous article, we explored the general principles of proxy servers and their classification. Now it’s time to dive into specific solutions, and we’ll start with Nginx (pronounced “engine-x”) — one of the most popular and high-performance web servers and a powerful reverse proxy. Nginx plays a key role in modern web infrastructure, powering millions of websites worldwide.

What is Nginx?

Nginx is a free, open-source software that was originally developed as a web server to solve the C10k problem (handling a large number of simultaneous connections). Over time, its functionality has expanded significantly, and today Nginx is widely used as:

How PCC on MikroTik Can Help You Save Money and Bypass Limits

2025-06-12

In today’s digital world, where every megabyte counts and stable connectivity is gold, a single internet channel is often just not enough. Maybe you have several external IP addresses gathering dust, or your hosting provider suddenly introduced those “unpleasant” traffic limits, threatening your budget and peace of mind. But don’t panic! PCC (Per Connection Classifier) on your MikroTik router running the updated RouterOS 7.x is your ticket to a world without limits. It allows you to optimize costs and bypass annoying restrictions.