Using a PAC file

A PAC file is a JavaScript function definition that a browser calls to determine how requests are handled. Clients must specify in their browser settings the URL from which the PAC file is loaded.

You can store a PAC file on the proxy and provide the URL for this file to your clients.

Note:

The PAC file can reside on any server in your network. Small networks may store the file on the proxy itself, but large, enterprise-class networks should use a separate server for storing the PAC file.

If the HTTPS protocol option is enabled, see Enabling SSL support for information about a PAC file to use with HTTPS traffic.

Steps

  1. If you have an existing proxy.pac file, replace the proxy.pac file located in the Content Gateway config directory with your existing file.
  2. Navigate to the Configure > Content Routing > Browser Auto-Config > PAC tab.
  3. In the Auto-Configuration Port field, specify the port that Content Gateway uses to serve the PAC file. The default port is 8083.
  4. The PAC Settings area displays the proxy.pac file:
    • If you copied an existing PAC file into the Content Gateway config directory, the proxy.pac file contains your proxy configuration settings. Check the settings and make changes if necessary.
    • If you did not copy an existing PAC file into the Content Gateway config directory, the PAC Settings area is empty. Enter the script that provides the proxy server configuration settings. A sample script is provided in Sample PAC file. See, also, the article titled “PAC File Best Practices” in the Documentation Library.
  5. Click Apply.
  6. Go to the Configure > My Proxy > Basic > General tab and click Restart.
  7. Inform your users to set their browsers to point to this PAC file.

    For example, if the PAC file is located on the proxy server with the hostname proxy1 and Content Gateway uses the default port 8083 to serve the file, users must specify the following URL in the proxy configuration settings:

    http://proxy1.company.com:8083/proxy.pac

Next steps

The procedures for specifying the PAC file location vary among browsers.