Using a Content Engine Proxy Service

If your link header plug-in is intended to access a public service or other resource outside the local domain, then it is a good idea to set up a Content Engine proxy service for the target resource and address the links it generates to the proxy service rather than directly to the target resource.

If, for example, your plug-in is intended to access resources at http://www.external-service.com, you could set up a Content Engine proxy service for this URL called external-service. You would then set up your plug-in to access resources at http://content-engine-domain/webservice/escenic/proxy/external-service and the proxy service would forward the requests to http://www.external-service.com. The advantages of doing this are:

  • It simplifies firewall configuration, since Content Studio and other Content Engine clients can always access the Content Engine web service. You then only need to make sure that the Content Engine itself has access to the external resources.

  • You can ensure that any sensitive information such as domain credentials are removed from requests before they are forwarded.

  • You can insert any authentication credentials that may be required by target hosts before requests are forwarded.

For detailed information about Content Engine proxy services and how to create them, see Content Engine Proxy Services.