# Reverse proxy on Windows IIS

Windows IIS can be configured to act as a **reverse proxy server**. There are a few pretty outdated guidelines available on the official Microsoft documentation where you can find additional information.

* [Reverse Proxy with URL Rewrite v2 and Application Request Routing](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/iis/extensions/url-rewrite-module/reverse-proxy-with-url-rewrite-v2-and-application-request-routing)
* [Setup IIS with URL Rewrite as a reverse proxy for real world apps](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/friis/setup-iis-with-url-rewrite-as-a-reverse-proxy-for-real-world-apps)

### Install IIS extensions <a href="#reverseproxyonwindowsiis-installiisextensions" id="reverseproxyonwindowsiis-installiisextensions"></a>

To set up a reverse proxy routing capabilities for IIS, first of all, you need to download and install two additional extensions:

* [URL Rewrite](https://www.iis.net/downloads/microsoft/url-rewrite)
* [Application Request Routing (ARR)](https://www.iis.net/downloads/microsoft/application-request-routing)

After successful installation of extensions, two additional options, **URL Rewrite** and **Application Request Routing**, will appear on the IIS dashboard.

### Enable proxy settings - ARR <a href="#reverseproxyonwindowsiis-enableproxysettings-arr" id="reverseproxyonwindowsiis-enableproxysettings-arr"></a>

The IIS proxy setting is disabled by default. You need to enable it.

1\. Open IIS Manager.

2\. In the **Feature View** section, double click on **Application Request Routing.**

<figure><img src="/files/TlasOA4HmjIflUiL5Bnt" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

3\. On the right sidebar under the **Proxy** section, select **Server Proxy Settings**... action.

<figure><img src="/files/b3wjJ8tTCxLTGgBhGWdE" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

4\. Check **Enable proxy** check box. And then on the right sidebar with actions, click **Apply** to save changes.

<figure><img src="/files/drozN0XtLEVN5jgzqeBK" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### URL Rewrite <a href="#reverseproxyonwindowsiis-urlrewrite" id="reverseproxyonwindowsiis-urlrewrite"></a>

To create a new inbound rule, follow these steps:

1\. Go to the IIS Manager, find **Default Web Site** and select **wscservice** virtual directory (for older versions it may differ, e.g. **spellcheck**) assuming that WebSpellChecker is deployed there.

2\. In the Feature View, click **URL Rewrite**.

<figure><img src="/files/jq2Jb2OKnzmjiHkBsZdC" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

3\. Click on **Add Rule(s)...** on the right sidebar with actions.

<figure><img src="/files/wcpd2600EmS1g3rcMjn0" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

4\. In the **Add rule(s)** dialog, select **Blank rule** template for inbound rules and click **OK**.

5\. Create **Inbound rule** for the parent website with the following settings:

* Pattern: **api(.\*)**
* Check the **Ignore case** box.
* Rewrite URL: **<http://localhost:2880/{R:1}>** where **<http://localhost:2880/>** is the path to the application server which listens to the 2880 port and **{R:1}.**

If you previously configured the SSL connection for AppServer, e.g. accessed the service entry point via [http**s**://localhost:2880/](https://localhost:2880/), it is highly recommended to disable this configuration and rely on the SSL management on IIS. To disable SSL connection for AppServer, go to **AppServerX.xml** file, locate **EnableSSL** tag and change its value to **false**. to apply changes, restart AppServer.

6\. Check **Append query string** check box.

7\. Check **Stop processing of subsequent rules** check box.

8\. Once all is done, click **Apply Rule**.

### Verification <a href="#reverseproxyonwindowsiis-verification" id="reverseproxyonwindowsiis-verification"></a>


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