Difference between various SWGfL proxy servers?

[Rawns]

Is aneone able to clarify the difference between the SWGfL proxy servers?

 

sslfilter.proxy.swgfl.org.uk

proxy.swgfl.org.uk

staffproxy.swgfl.org.uk

 

My understanding is sslfilter bypasses DPI, proxy does not, and staffproxy integrates to a school's AD?

 

Edit: And sslfilter.userproxy.swgfl.org.uk

Edited May 16, 2019 by Rawns

[kennysarmy]

Is aneone able to clarify the difference between the SWGfL proxy servers?

 

sslfilter.proxy.swgfl.org.uk

proxy.swgfl.org.uk

staffproxy.swgfl.org.uk

 

My understanding is sslfilter bypasses DPI, proxy does not, and staffproxy integrates to a school's AD?

 

Is there also proxy.[schoolname] ?

[Rawns]

Is there also proxy.[schoolname] ?

 

Is there? Another to add to the list then! I've also found out there is a dedicated Windows update proxy: updateproxy.swgfl.org.uk

[steve_forbes]

Hi,

 

Here's the full list of proxys available on SWGfL:

 

Default Proxy

These proxy addresses provide filtering based on the schools default policy

 

sslfilter.proxy.swgfl.org.uk:8080 - recommended standard proxy with ssl filtering

proxy.swgfl.org.uk:8080 - standard proxy without ssl filtering

proxy.[school domain name]:8080 - This is typically a CNAME which points to the standard proxy.swgfl.org.uk. These are no longer created but can continue to be used if SSL filtering is not required.

 

User Based Proxy

These proxy addresses provide customisable user based filtering based on active directory authentication

 

sslfilter.userproxy.swgfl.org.uk:8080 - recommended user proxy with ssl filtering

nosslfilter.userproxy.swgfl.org.uk:8080 - user proxy without ssl filtering

 

Clearly you need to subscribe to User Based Filtering to be able to use this functionality.

 

Coming soon:

 

Over the next month we will be enabling new functionality to provide more flexible filtering for schools who cannot use user based filtering

 

Custom Proxy Addresses

These provide schools with the ability to provide differentiated filtering to different sets of devices using different proxy addresses

 

sslfilter.policy1.proxy.swgfl.org.uk:8080

sslfilter.policy2.proxy.swgfl.org.uk:8080

sslfilter.policy3.proxy.swgfl.org.uk:8080

sslfilter.policy4.proxy.swgfl.org.uk:8080

 

"nosslfilter" versions of the above will also be available which use the same policy without ssl filtering

 

IP Based Filtering

Custom policies for specific IP addresses/ranges on your network, these will take precedence over the default policy when using the default proxy address.

 

Legacy SWGfL Proxy Addresses

These are historical proxy types whose functionality has been or is in the process of being replaced by the addresses listed above. These should no longer be required.

 

Other proxies

staffproxy.swgfl.org.uk is a legacy proxy type that allows unfiltered access for authenticated users. Users of this should consider using Safetynet User Based Filtering which allows AD authentication and custom policies to be configured for different users or user groups.

updateproxy.swgfl.org.uk - Provides the same functionality as the standard proxy and will shortly be repointed to proxy.swgfl.org.uk

smartcache.proxy.swgfl.org.uk / smoothwall.proxy.swgfl.org.uk - Upstream proxy for onsite filtering devices providing IWF and extremist filtering only. These will shortly be repointed to nosslfilter.policy4.proxy.swgfl.org.uk which will be preconfigured with a policy that mirrors this behaviour.

unfiltered.proxy.swgfl.org.uk - IWF and extremist filtering only. This has to be enabled within the safetynet UI. This functionality will soon be removed. Users wishing to have access to proxy with a minimal filtering proxy will be able to use the new custom proxies to achieve this.

 

A list of these proxies can also be found within the Safetynet administration interface.

 

Hope that helps,

Steve

[Rawns]

Thanks @steve_forbes - very comprehensive!