Traffic Server – high-performance HTTP caching proxy

Apache Traffic Server is a high-performance caching proxy designed to accelerate content delivery and reduce the workload on origin servers. It supports forward and reverse proxy configurations and can be deployed as part of a large-scale web infrastructure.

The software is used in environments where large volumes of HTTP traffic must be processed efficiently. Frequently requested responses can be stored locally and delivered directly to clients, reducing unnecessary requests to backend systems.

Traffic Server has a modular architecture that combines HTTP caching with request routing, traffic management and extensibility. Administrators can configure cache policies for different applications and use plugins to customise how requests and responses are processed.

This is free and open source software.

Key Features

• HTTP response caching – stores reusable web content to reduce origin server requests and improve response times.
• Forward and reverse proxy operation – supports client-side caching proxies and caching layers in front of web applications.
• HTTP/1.1 and HTTP/2 support – handles modern HTTP traffic and persistent connections.
• Configurable cache policies – controls object freshness, cache eligibility, retention and revalidation.
• Flexible cache storage – supports configurable disk cache volumes and storage allocation.
• URL remapping – maps incoming requests to different origins using configurable remapping rules.
• Cache key manipulation – customises cache keys using URL components, query parameters, headers and cookies.
• Cache hierarchies – supports parent proxy selection and routing between caching servers.
• Origin server management – provides health checks, failover and configurable origin selection.
• Plugin architecture – extends request processing through a C API and additional modules.
• Content transformation – provides plugins for compression, header rewriting and Edge Side Includes.
• Cache management – supports administrative tools and plugins for invalidation and cache inspection.
• Detailed monitoring – exposes cache statistics, traffic metrics and transaction logs.
• TLS support – handles encrypted connections between clients, proxies and origin servers.
• Cross-platform support – runs on Linux and macOS.

Website: trafficserver.apache.org
Support:
Developer: Apache Software Foundation
License: Apache License 2.0

Apache Traffic Server is written in C++. Learn C++ with our recommended free books and free tutorials.

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