Apache Can Skip Its Parent for Internal Destinations

An Apache forward proxy can use a parent for external destinations and connect directly to selected internal services. Add the routing choice to the existing access-controlled proxy configuration:

ProxyRemote "*" "http://parent.example:8080"
NoProxy app.internal.example packages.internal.example

NoProxy entries are separated by spaces. Requests matching these hosts bypass the configured ProxyRemote parent. Other matching traffic retains the parent route. An unauthenticated address from the HTTP proxy list can be a parent candidate for permitted public-site traffic; use no parent credentials on that branch and preserve the internal exceptions.

Clients still send the requests to Apache. “Direct” here describes Apache’s next hop to the destination; it does not tell the browser to stop using Apache. A client-side NO_PROXY value would make a different routing decision.

A domain entry has an explicit form

For a whole DNS domain, Apache documents a leading-period form such as .internal.example. Use it only when the intended exception covers that domain’s hosts. Exact host entries keep a smaller exception easier to assess.

The names identify destinations, not parent proxies. Apache also needs direct resolution, reachability and access to those destinations. Bypassing the parent cannot supply a route that exists only through the parent.

Keep client authorization rules in the existing proxy configuration. NoProxy selects upstream routing; it does not restrict who may use the forward proxy.