Frequently Asked Questions¶

Common questions and answers about Relyr.

General Questions¶

What is Relyr?¶

Relyr is a high-performance proxy server and networking solution designed for reliability, scalability, and ease of use. It supports HTTP/HTTPS proxies, SOCKS proxies, and advanced features like proxy rotation, authentication, and monitoring.

What protocols does Relyr support?¶

Relyr supports: - HTTP/1.1 and HTTP/2 - HTTPS with SSL/TLS termination - SOCKS4 and SOCKS5 - WebSocket proxying - TCP/UDP forwarding

Is Relyr open source?¶

Yes, Relyr is open source and available on GitHub under the MIT license.

What platforms does Relyr support?¶

Relyr runs on: - Linux (all major distributions) - macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon) - Windows 10/11 - Docker containers - Kubernetes clusters

Installation & Setup¶

How do I install Relyr?¶

See our Installation Guide for detailed instructions. The quickest method is:

# Using package managers
pip install relyr          # Python
npm install -g relyr       # Node.js
brew install relyr         # macOS

What are the system requirements?¶

Minimum: - 512MB RAM - 100MB disk space - Network connectivity

Recommended: - 2GB+ RAM - 1GB+ disk space - 2+ CPU cores

How do I configure Relyr?¶

Create a configuration file at ~/.config/relyr/relyr.yml:

server:
  host: 0.0.0.0
  port: 8080

logging:
  level: info

proxy:
  enabled: true

See the Configuration Guide for more details.

Configuration Questions¶

Can I use multiple upstream proxies?¶

Yes, Relyr supports proxy rotation and load balancing:

proxy:
  rotation:
    enabled: true
    strategy: round_robin
    proxies:
      - host: proxy1.example.com
        port: 8080
      - host: proxy2.example.com
        port: 8080

How do I enable authentication?¶

Configure authentication in your relyr.yml:

auth:
  enabled: true
  method: basic
  users:
    - username: admin
      password: secretpassword

Can I use custom SSL certificates?¶

Yes, configure SSL/TLS settings:

server:
  tls:
    enabled: true
    cert_file: /path/to/cert.pem
    key_file: /path/to/key.pem

How do I configure logging?¶

Customize logging in your configuration:

logging:
  level: info          # debug, info, warn, error
  format: json         # json, text
  output: file         # stdout, file
  file: /var/log/relyr/relyr.log

Performance Questions¶

How many concurrent connections can Relyr handle?¶

This depends on your system resources. Relyr can handle thousands of concurrent connections. Configure limits:

performance:
  max_connections: 10000
  max_connections_per_host: 100

How do I optimize performance?¶

Enable connection pooling:

performance:
  connection_pooling:
    enabled: true
    max_idle_connections: 100

Adjust timeouts:

proxy:
  timeouts:
    connect: 5s
    read: 30s

Use compression:

proxy:
  compression:
    enabled: true

What's the typical latency overhead?¶

Relyr adds minimal latency (typically 1-5ms) depending on: - Network conditions - Target server response time - Configuration complexity - System resources

Security Questions¶

Is Relyr secure?¶

Yes, Relyr includes several security features: - TLS/SSL encryption - Authentication mechanisms - Access control lists - Request/response filtering - Rate limiting

How do I secure my Relyr installation?¶

Enable authentication:
```
auth:
  enabled: true
```
Use HTTPS:
```
server:
  tls:
    enabled: true
```

Configure firewall:

sudo ufw allow from 192.168.1.0/24 to any port 8080

Regular updates:
```
relyr version --check-updates
```

Can I restrict access by IP address?¶

Yes, configure IP whitelisting:

security:
  ip_whitelist:
    - 192.168.1.0/24
    - 10.0.0.0/8
  deny_by_default: true

How are passwords stored?¶

Passwords are hashed using bcrypt with a configurable cost factor:

auth:
  password_hashing:
    algorithm: bcrypt
    cost: 12

API Questions¶

Does Relyr have an API?¶

Yes, Relyr provides a comprehensive REST API for management and monitoring. See our API Documentation.

How do I authenticate with the API?¶

Use API keys, bearer tokens, or basic authentication:

# API Key
curl -H "X-API-Key: your-api-key" http://localhost:8080/api/v1/proxies

# Bearer Token
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer your-token" http://localhost:8080/api/v1/proxies

Are there SDKs available?¶

Yes, official SDKs are available for: - Python: pip install relyr-python - Node.js: npm install relyr-node - Go: go get github.com/relyr/relyr-go

Monitoring Questions¶

How do I monitor Relyr?¶

Relyr provides multiple monitoring options:

Built-in health checks:
```
curl http://localhost:8080/health
```
Metrics endpoint:
```
curl http://localhost:8080/metrics
```

API endpoints:

curl -H "X-API-Key: key" http://localhost:8080/api/v1/status

What metrics are available?¶

Key metrics include: - Requests per second - Response times (avg, p95, p99) - Active connections - Error rates - Bandwidth usage - Memory/CPU usage

Can I integrate with monitoring systems?¶

Yes, Relyr supports: - Prometheus metrics - StatsD integration - Custom webhooks - Syslog output

monitoring:
  prometheus:
    enabled: true
    port: 9090
  statsd:
    enabled: true
    host: statsd.example.com
    port: 8125

Docker Questions¶

How do I run Relyr in Docker?¶

# Basic usage
docker run -d -p 8080:8080 relyr/relyr:latest

# With custom configuration
docker run -d -p 8080:8080 \
  -v $(pwd)/config:/etc/relyr \
  relyr/relyr:latest

Can I use Docker Compose?¶

Yes, here's a sample docker-compose.yml:

version: '3.8'
services:
  relyr:
    image: relyr/relyr:latest
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    volumes:
      - ./config:/etc/relyr
    environment:
      - RELYR_LOG_LEVEL=info

How do I persist data in Docker?¶

Mount volumes for configuration and data:

docker run -d \
  -v relyr-config:/etc/relyr \
  -v relyr-data:/var/lib/relyr \
  -v relyr-logs:/var/log/relyr \
  relyr/relyr:latest

Kubernetes Questions¶

Can I deploy Relyr on Kubernetes?¶

Yes, Relyr works well in Kubernetes. See our Kubernetes examples.

How do I scale Relyr in Kubernetes?¶

Use horizontal pod autoscaling:

apiVersion: autoscaling/v2
kind: HorizontalPodAutoscaler
metadata:
  name: relyr-hpa
spec:
  scaleTargetRef:
    apiVersion: apps/v1
    kind: Deployment
    name: relyr
  minReplicas: 2
  maxReplicas: 10
  metrics:
  - type: Resource
    resource:
      name: cpu
      target:
        type: Utilization
        averageUtilization: 70

Troubleshooting Questions¶

Relyr won't start. What should I check?¶

Check logs:
```
journalctl -u relyr -f
```
Validate configuration:
```
relyr config validate
```
Check port availability:
```
netstat -tulpn | grep :8080
```
Verify permissions:
```
ls -la ~/.config/relyr/
```

Why are my proxy connections slow?¶

Common causes and solutions:

Network latency: Test direct connection
DNS issues: Configure DNS servers
Upstream proxy problems: Test upstream directly
Resource constraints: Monitor CPU/memory usage

How do I enable debug logging?¶

Update your configuration:

logging:
  level: debug
  output: stdout

Or use environment variable:

export RELYR_LOG_LEVEL=debug
relyr server

Integration Questions¶

Can I use Relyr with existing applications?¶

Yes, Relyr works with any application that supports HTTP/HTTPS proxies. Configure your application to use Relyr as a proxy server.

Does Relyr work with load balancers?¶

Yes, you can place Relyr behind load balancers like: - nginx - HAProxy - AWS Application Load Balancer - Google Cloud Load Balancer

Can I integrate with CI/CD pipelines?¶

Yes, Relyr can be used in CI/CD for: - Testing through proxies - Accessing internal resources - Network security testing

Example GitHub Actions:

- name: Start Relyr
  run: |
    docker run -d -p 8080:8080 relyr/relyr:latest
    sleep 5

- name: Test through proxy
  run: |
    curl -x http://localhost:8080 https://api.example.com

Licensing Questions¶

What license does Relyr use?¶

Relyr is released under the MIT License, which allows: - Commercial use - Distribution - Modification - Private use

Can I use Relyr in commercial projects?¶

Yes, the MIT license allows commercial use without restrictions.

Do I need to pay for Relyr?¶

The open-source version is completely free. Enterprise support and additional features may be available through commercial licenses.

Getting Help¶

Where can I get support?¶

Documentation: This site and GitHub Wiki
Issues: GitHub Issues for bugs and feature requests
Community: Community Forum for discussions
Chat: Discord Server for real-time help

How do I report a bug?¶

Check existing GitHub Issues
Create a new issue with:
Relyr version (relyr version)
Operating system
Configuration file (sanitized)
Error logs
Steps to reproduce

How do I request a feature?¶

Check if it's already requested in GitHub Issues
Create a feature request with:
Clear description of the feature
Use case/motivation
Proposed implementation (if applicable)

Is commercial support available?¶

Yes, commercial support options include: - Priority support - Custom feature development - Training and consulting - SLA guarantees

Contact us at support@relyr.io for more information.