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.

030 | Proxy Servers in Action: Dante — a Versatile SOCKS Proxy Server

2025-06-22

We continue exploring the world of proxy servers. After looking into Nginx and HAProxy, which primarily handle HTTP and high-level load balancing, it’s time to look at Dante. This proxy server specializes in the SOCKS protocol, offering lower-level proxying for any TCP and UDP traffic.

What is Dante?

Dante is a free, open-source software designed to function as a SOCKS proxy server. Unlike HTTP proxies, which operate at the application layer (OSI Layer 7) and understand web traffic, SOCKS proxies work at the transport layer (OSI Layer 4). This means Dante can proxy virtually any network traffic, regardless of its contents, making it extremely versatile.

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.

027 | Proxy Servers: Your Reliable Network Middleman — Why You Need Them and How They Work

2025-06-19

In today’s internet-driven world, where data constantly travels between millions of devices, it’s often not enough to establish a direct connection — you may need a “middleman.” That’s where a proxy server comes in. It acts as a bridge between you (the client) and the destination resource (server), handling network requests on your behalf. Understanding how proxies work is critical for network security, optimization, and access management.

What is a Proxy Server?

A proxy server (from the English proxy — representative, intermediary) is a server in a computer network that acts as an intermediary between a user (client) and other internet servers. All client requests go through the proxy first, which then forwards them to the destination server. Responses from the destination server also return to the proxy first before being sent back to the client.