Originally posted by Unreggie
Hi. What is the difference between a proxy server and a wingate server? When do you use one and not the other?
A wingate server is a proxy server on steroids. A standard proxy server normally offers just one service. For example, an HTTP proxy server allows you to route your Web traffic via that server. Wingate offers a bunch of services, such as transaprent port mapping, DNS, as well as the standard proxy services (HTTP, FTP, SOCKS, etc). The latest Wingate versions are a great turn-key solution for any small LAN; they allow all PCs on the LAN to have direct access to the Internet, and virtually any application works as if it has direct access. Wingate supports both outbound and inbound connections, which is a unique feature. So if an application has to act as a server, i.e. accept inbound connections, and you run it on a PC that is a part of your "internal" LAN, it can still accept connections from the "external" Internet.