Transparent Redirection With SafeSquid And WCCP

GOAL

Are you looking for

Transparent redirection of traffic?

So, no user need to set proxy settings in browsers.

Load balance traffic & Scaling up?

Add more proxies to serve traffic and distribute traffic across multiple proxies.

Service assurance and high availability?

                If one proxy fails, then other proxies should serve clients traffic.

If you are here for any of above challenges then SafeSquid with WCCP is a solution for you.

What is WCCP?

Web Cache Communication Protocol (WCCP) is a Cisco-developed content-routing protocol that provides a mechanism to redirect traffic flows in real-time. It has built-in load balancing, scaling, fault tolerance, and service-assurance (failsafe) mechanisms.

How it works with SafeSquid?

Enable WCCP support in routers. This can be done only if your router supports WCCP.

Ex: CISCO ASA routers.

2.Configure SafeSquid to interact with WCCP enabled routers using WCCP section.

3.Configure end users to use WCCP enabled router as gateway.

The story is over. Now all your clients traffic will be transparently redirected to SafeSquid proxy by router and SafeSquid serves traffic.

The below picture will tell you whole story.

WCCP Describes the communication between WCCP enabled Router and SafeSquid Proxy(Web-cache) to implement transparent redirection with scaling and fail-safe benefits.

1.Enable WCCP and transparent redirection support in Routers(Gateway).

2.Configure SafeSquid Proxies(Web-Caches) with WCCP enabled router information to work in coordination to participate in transparent redirection. SafeSquid proxies will send HERE I AM messages to routers and routers acknowledge with I SEE YOU messages. After then all together will be ready to serve clients traffic. One of the SafeSquid proxies will become master & implement redirection rules and inform to router using REDIRECT ASSIGNMENT. Routers are ready to forward traffic as told by SafeSquid proxy.

3.Users are configured to use WCCP enabled router as gateway and router denies direct access to the internet and redirects incoming packets(traffic) to the group of SafeSquid proxies which are interacted with router using WCCP Protocol. SafeSquid proxies will serve traffic.

 

Benefits

1.End users does not need to configure proxy in their browsers.

2.Fail Safe - If a proxy fails remaining proxies will handle the traffic

3.Scale Up - Add any number of proxies without disturbing environment

4.Load balance- Traffic will be distributed across all proxies.