Proxy Server Setup

Some employers establish Proxy Servers that may filter incoming and outgoing traffic. If your organization has a proxy server, then utilizing the Proxy Server Setup feature from the Platform Library® will allow you or your organization's network administrator to input information that will allow you to access the Internet, and/or download data from the Internet into ERI's software applications. Please see IP Address, Port and URL Information.

1.	Run the Platform Library by running the latest quarterly DVD or, if the latest Platform Library is installed, by clicking the “Salaries & Cost-of-Living” icon on your Desktop.

2.	Select the Internet \| Proxy Server Setup (to allow Internet connections) menu.

The “Auto Detect” feature is enabled, by default, on the Proxy Server Setup dialog. To override “Auto Detect," click the checkbox next to “Use a proxy server” and complete all fields. If the “Auto Detect” feature does not work for your particular system, and you are unfamiliar with your organization's proxy server setup, please contact your network administrator for assistance.

Data that is stored on, and retrieved from, the Internet is an integral part of all of ERI’s applications.

In an enterprise that uses the Internet, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary between a workstation user and the Internet so that the enterprise can ensure security, administrative control, and caching service. A proxy server is associated with or part of a gateway server that separates the enterprise network from the outside network and a firewall server that protects the enterprise network from outside intrusion.

A proxy server receives a request for an Internet service (such as a Web page request) from a user. If it passes filtering requirements, the proxy server, assuming it is also a cache server, looks in its local cache of previously downloaded Web pages. If it finds the page, it returns it to the user without needing to forward the request to the Internet. If the page is not in the cache, the proxy server, acting as a client on behalf of the user, uses one of its own IP addresses to request the page from the server out on the Internet. When the page is returned, the proxy server relates it to the original request and forwards it on to the user.

To the user, the proxy server is invisible; all Internet requests and returned responses appear to be directly with the addressed Internet server. (The proxy is not quite invisible; its IP address has to be specified as a configuration option to the browser or other protocol program.)

An advantage of a proxy server is that its cache can serve all users. If one or more Internet sites are frequently requested, these are likely to be in the proxy's cache, which will improve user response time. In fact, there are special servers called cache servers. A proxy can also do logging.

The functions of proxy, firewall, and caching can be in separate server programs or combined in a single package. Different server programs can be in different computers. For example, a proxy server may be in the same machine with a firewall server or it may be on a separate server and forward requests through the firewall.