Configuring SOCKS servers

Content Gateway can be configured to work with one or more SOCKS servers in your network. When Content Gateway is installed on an appliance, a SOCKS server is included with the module.

Note: When Content Gateway is not installed on an appliance, no SOCKS server is provided with Content Gateway.

To configure SOCKS servers:

Steps

  1. Enable the SOCKS feature.
    1. Navigate to Configure > My Proxy > Basic > General.
    2. In the Security section of the Features table, click SOCKS On, and click Apply.
    3. Restart Content Gateway.
  2. Specify the SOCKS version.
    1. Go to Configure > Security > SOCKS > General.
    2. Select the SOCKS version running on your SOCKS servers and click Apply.
  3. To configure the on-appliance SOCKS server:
    1. Select the Server tab.
    2. In the On-Appliance SOCKS Server area, select Enabled and click Apply. An entry for the server is created in the socks_server.config file.
    3. To change the default entry, in the SOCKS Server area click Edit File. In the editor, select the On-Appliance-SOCKS-Server rule.

      You can change the port, whether it will be the default SOCKS server, and whether server authentication is applied.

      You cannot change the server name or the IP address, which is always the loopback address.

      After you make the needed changes, click Set.

  4. To configure use of other SOCKS servers in your network:
    1. Select the Server tab and in the SOCKS Server area click Edit File.
    2. Enter a SOCKS server name.
    3. Enter the SOCKS server IP address or a domain name that is resolvable by the DNS server inside your network.
    4. Select whether it will be the default SOCKS server.
    5. If authentication will be used, provide a SOCKS user name and password.
    6. Click Set to add the server to the list.

      You can always return to the editor, select the rule, make changes, and click Set to save them.

  5. If there are multiple SOCKS servers, after they have been added, or while they are being added, you can arrange them in precedence-order by selecting an entry and moving it up or down the list with the up and down arrows.
  6. Click Apply to accept your changes, and Close to close the editor.
  7. In the SOCKS Server Rules area you can create rules for specific routing and bypass by destination IP address. See, Setting SOCKS server bypass.
  8. To review configuration options that apply to all SOCKS servers, select the Options tab.
    1. Review and adjust the Server Connection Timeout value. It specifies how many seconds Content Gateway waits attempting to connect to a SOCKS server before timing out.
    2. Review and adjust the Connection Attempts Per Server value. It specifies how many times Content Gateway attempts to connect to a given SOCKS server before marking the server as unavailable.
    3. Review and adjust the Server Pool Connection Attempts value. It specifies how many times Content Gateway attempts to connect to a given SOCKS server in the pool before giving up.
  9. When SOCKS server configuration is complete, click Apply and then go to Configure > My Proxy > General and restart Content Gateway.