How to Install and Configure Squid Proxy Server in CentOS 5.5

In this post, i will guide you on how to install and configure squid proxy server with basic configuration. Squid proxy server and make web browzing fast as it reduces bandwidth and improves response times by caching and reusing frequently-requested web pages. Please follow below steps to configure your squid proxy server.

[root@server ~]# yum -y install squid
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror
Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile
 * addons: centos.ipserverone.com
 * base: centos.ipserverone.com
 * epel: mirror01.idc.hinet.net
 * extras: centos.ipserverone.com
 * updates: centos.ipserverone.com
Setting up Install Process
Resolving Dependencies
--> Running transaction check
---> Package squid.i386 7:2.6.STABLE21-6.el5 set to be updated
--> Finished Dependency Resolution

Dependencies Resolved

=====================================================================================
 Package         Arch           Version                         Repository      Size
=====================================================================================
Installing:
 squid           i386           7:2.6.STABLE21-6.el5            base           1.3 M

Transaction Summary
=====================================================================================
Install       1 Package(s)
Upgrade       0 Package(s)

Total download size: 1.3 M
Downloading Packages:
squid-2.6.STABLE21-6.el5.i386.rpm                             | 1.3 MB     00:24
Running rpm_check_debug
Running Transaction Test
Finished Transaction Test
Transaction Test Succeeded
Running Transaction
  Installing     : squid                                                         1/1

Installed:
  squid.i386 7:2.6.STABLE21-6.el5

Complete!

1. Configure main squid configuration file. Use vi to edit.

[root@server ~]# vi /etc/squid/squid.conf

2. The defaults port is TCP 3128. However you can change it to 9090 or 8080.
# Change Line 919 as below:

http_port 8080

3. Add list of internal IP networks from where browsing should be allowed. In this example the ip network segment named intranet_local.
# add below on Line 590 ( allow only intranet_local)

acl intranet_local src 192.168.2.0/24

# add below on Line 637

http_access allow intranet_local

4. Configure auto start at boot for squid service and start squid server:

[root@server ~]# chkconfig squid on
[root@server ~]# /etc/init.d/squid start
Starting squid: .                                          [  OK  ]

5. Configure your client browser with proxy server ip address with port 8080.
6. Test from client using this URL