Microsoft Corporation
REVERSE PROXY SERVERS FOR IMPLEMENTING APPLICATION LAYER-BASED AND TRANSPORT LAYER-BASED SECURITY RULES

Abstract:

The implementation of application layer-based and transport-layer based security rules via a reverse proxy server chain is described. Each reverse proxy server in the chain is configured to perform a particular function with respect to client messages intended for a destination server and/or convey contextual information pertaining to the messages to a subsequent reverse proxy server in the chain. For instance, a first reverse proxy server in the chain is configured to include client-specific metadata in the transport layer of the message. A second reverse proxy server in the chain enforces transport layer-based policy rules based on the metadata. This enables the second reverse proxy server to manage transport layer connections on a client-by-client basis, thereby enabling the second reverse proxy server to block unauthorized clients, while maintaining the transport layer connections for authorized clients. A third reverse proxy server in the chain enforces application layer-based policy rules.