US Patent 9154557 Automatic proxy registration and discovery in a multi-proxy communication system

One embodiment comprises an apparatus for automatic proxy registration and discovery in a multi-proxy communication system. The apparatus executes a proxy server that is configured to provide optimized connections to remote proxy servers that are communicatively connected to the proxy server over a Wide Area Network (WAN). A file server, which is communicatively connected to the proxy server over a Local Area Network (LAN), is automatically discovered. An association record corresponding to the file server is created, where the association record identifies the file server and the proxy server and indicates that the proxy server is configured to provide the remote proxy servers with optimized connections to the file server. The association record is registered with a centralized database server, where the remote proxy servers are communicatively connected to the centralized database server over the WAN.