# Understanding proxy\_buffering **URL:** \ **Category:** NGINX\ **Created:** [January 19, 2014, 9:15am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/understanding-proxy-buffering/238599 "2014-01-19T09:15:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Detlef\_R](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/58f4c7/32.png) [@Detlef\_R](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Detlef_R)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 9:15am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/understanding-proxy-buffering/238599/1 "2014-01-19T09:15:34Z")
Hi I’m trying to setup a reverse proxy for some private downloads. Here is our setup: 3 Storage servers with High capacity but slow HDDs running nginx 1 loadbalancing server with SSD and high internet uplink. my file sizes are several hundred megabytes (500+ up to 2GB) running nginx downloaders are on slow connections with download managers with up to 16 connections for each file here is what I want to do: a user sends a request to the SSD server, the ssd server requests the file from Slow servers and caches to response to its fast HDD and serving it to the client. But If I use the proxy\_cache , the file serving has to wait till the file has been completly transfered and cache on the SSD disk wich (if several files are requested at the same time) results in a slow connection and timeout or other errors on the client side. so this is not an option. However I think proxy\_buffering is answer to my problem, I think this means each part of the requested file (defined by ranges header) is cached independently. 1. Am I right? If I’m right then 2. how can I tell the nginx, to buffer like 5mb of requested part in memory (and the excess on the SSD disk) and serve the file to the client until the client has downloaded the part and then request another 5mb? I’m looking for a setting like output\_buffers 1 5m; but for the proxied file. 3. Is there a better solution? Regards Posted at Nginx Forum: > **[understanding proxy\_buffering](https://forum.nginx.org/read.php?2,246586,246586#msg-246586)** > > Hi I'm trying to setup a reverse proxy for some private downloads. Here is our setup: 3 Storage servers with High capacity but slow HDDs running nginx 1 loadbalancing server with SSD and high internet uplink. my file sizes are several hundred... ---
**Author:** ![mojiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mojiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/mojiz)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 9:33am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/understanding-proxy-buffering/238599/2 "2014-01-19T09:33:40Z")
Hello One side question. Have you calculated a estimation of the expected life of a SSD disk when you are writing on it continously? I suppose that in such a situation it will die “quickly”, due to the limited number of writes that the memory can support before getting damaged. Greetings. Oscar ---
**Author:** ![mojiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mojiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/mojiz)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 12:34pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/understanding-proxy-buffering/238599/3 "2014-01-19T12:34:31Z")
Hadn’t thought of that We could still use SAS 15K drives ,anyway even if the ssd thing works for a year or two I think the advantage will cover the cost Posted at Nginx Forum: > **[Re: understanding proxy\_buffering](https://forum.nginx.org/read.php?2,246586,246595#msg-246595)** > > Hi I'm trying to setup a reverse proxy for some private downloads. Here is our setup: 3 Storage servers with High capacity but slow HDDs running nginx 1 loadbalancing server with SSD and high internet uplink. my file sizes are several hundred... ---
**Author:** ![mojiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mojiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/mojiz)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 12:49pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/understanding-proxy-buffering/238599/4 "2014-01-19T12:49:39Z")
One year or two?. I think that is a very optimist estimation. Extrapolating the information I get from a Windows program I execute in my laptop when I install software (it is a moment where you are writing files to the disk), I suppose you should expect a very much shorter life for your SSD disk. Perhaps anyone in the list have real experience in that subject…