## Overview

<!-- markdownlint-disable MD032 -->
> [!NOTE]
> This lab only supports Chrome browser.

TiProxy is the official proxy component of TiDB. It is placed between the client and the TiDB server to provide load balancing, connection persistence, service discovery, and other features for TiDB.

Note that TiProxy is an optional component. You can also use a third-party proxy component or connect directly to the TiDB server without using a proxy.

> [!TIP]
> TiProxy is available from TiDB version 8.1

### Tasks

+ Understand the service discover capability of TiProxy
+ Observe the zero downtime feature when scaling in the SQL layer with TiProxy
+ Learn the application development best practice when facing with unexpected SQL layer downtime

> [!TIP]
> Click **Start** to launch the lab environment.
> Once the environment is ready, the resources assigned to your hands-on session will be populated with the actual values, so you can follow the lab guide step-by-step to complete the practice.