Abstract: In a network supporting transactions between clients and servers and proxies that are interposable in a network path between at least one client and at least one server, wherein a pair of proxies can modify a packet stream between a client and a server such that packet data from the client to the server is transformed at a client-side proxy of the proxy pair and untransformed at a server-side proxy of proxy pair and such that packet data from the server to the client is transformed at the server-side proxy and untransformed at the client-side proxy, a method and apparatus for a discovering proxy to transparently discover its position in a proxy pair by using proxy signals to indicate to other proxies that could pair with the discovering proxy. A discovering proxy might determine that it is a client-side proxy by receipt of a packet from client without a proxy signal. A discovering proxy might determine that it is a server-side proxy by receipt of a packet from server without a return proxy signal.