Proxy tunneling

Proxy tunneling via the HTTP CONNECT method lets a user who accesses the Internet through a proxy server connect to FH Web Edition servers on the Internet when the following conditions are met:

  • The user runs the FH Web Edition client on a Windows computer.
  • The address and port of the proxy server are stored under the client computer’s Internet options.
  • The proxy server is configured to allow HTTP CONNECT method tunnels to the port on which the FH Web Edition server is configured to accept RapidX Protocol (RXP) connections.

When users on Windows computers are unable to establish a direct connection to a FH Web Edition server, and when the client computer is configured through its Internet options to use a proxy server, FH Web Edition attempts to establish an HTTP CONNECT method tunnel to the FH Web Edition server.

Specifically, the client:

  1. Connects to the proxy server using the address and port specified in the client computer’s Internet options.

  2. Sends a CONNECT request to the proxy server:

    Example: CONNECT address:port HTTP/1.0, where address and port are respectively the IP address of the FH Web Edition server, and the port on which the server accepts RXP connections (by default, 491).

  3. Reads the reply from the proxy server.
  4. Responds to the proxy server’s reply as follows:
    1. If basic authentication is required, FH Web Edition prompts users for their user name and password, and then repeats step 2, this time providing the user’s credentials.

    2. If the request failed, FH Web Edition displays the following message:

      Failed to connect to serverAddress via the proxy server at proxyAddress : [reason for failure].

    3. If the request succeeded, FH Web Edition initializes the RXP connection and starts the session.

 

Allowing HTTP CONNECT method tunnels using port 443