Proxy server

This is a server designed to cache (store a copy) of web pages.

Many networks have a proxy server.

In order to force the client browser to use this server, the network administrator will have adjusted the proxy setting of each browser client on the networked computers..

When users on the network request a web page within their browser, the browser will first of all look to the proxy server to see if it has an up-to-date copy, if it hasn't then the page is fetched directly from the web site and the proxy then stores a copy for next time.

Proxy servers are used to reduce network bandwidth and to speed up browsing. The disadvantage is that they may not have the latest version of the web page.