wpad.dat file

[techie211]

hey ppl, I followed the instructions from this link that was posted here a while ago..FindProxyForURL.com - PAC & WPAD Resource but I'm alittle confused. Do I need to configure a gpo to push the wpad.dat file down to the users? when I type "http://wpad/wpad.dat" in the IE address bar I get a prompt to download the wpad.dat file??? shouldn't this be done automatically? and what directory does the wdat.dat file get downloaded to? what else am I missing? any help is appreciated

servers = win2k3
workstations = winxp sp3

[teejay]

The recommended way to do this is through dns, you create an alias to the server hosting the wpad file. This is the best way as it's compatible with a wider range of browsers. You will need to unblock wpad in dns before you can add it though if running 2008 server as it's blocked by default. In GPO set the proxy to automatically detect settings. Detailed info on how to do this is here.

[techie211]

thanks for the reply. how does the client receive the .dat file? how does it get pushed down? do they need to download it to their workstation? I'm not understanding that part. thanks

[AngryTechnician]

Once you've done the above, the browser downloads it automatically. That's what the 'automatically detect settings' part is for.

[teejay]

thanks for the reply. how does the client receive the .dat file? how does it get pushed down? do they need to download it to their workstation? I'm not understanding that part. thanks

Once you've done the above and set the browser to automatically detect settings, the browser will check dns for an entry wpad.your.domain and get the wpad.dat file from http://wpad.your.domain/wpad.dat
Good thing about this is it works with Firefox and anything else that auto detects proxy, whereas doing it through GPO or DHCP will only work with IE.

[tom_newton]

...though there's no great harm doing it all 3 ways