Maryland Traffic Command Center

Connecting to CHART API via HAProxy...
(Fetching live video data)
Select a camera on the map to view feed

Raw MDOT API Payload

This is the live JSON metadata pulled securely via our HAProxy backend.

Loading data...

Homelab Architecture: The CORS Bypass

This dashboard pulls live traffic data from the Maryland Government servers. Normally, modern web browsers enforce CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) policies, which would block this dashboard from downloading the background JSON data.

How we fixed it: This site uses an advanced homelab reverse proxy setup to securely bypass browser restrictions without needing any client-side browser extensions.

Traffic Flow:

  1. The Request: You visit mdta-dash.dexterslab.rocks.
  2. HAProxy Intercept: HAProxy receives the traffic. If the request is for the HTML interface, HAProxy forwards it to a local OpenResty (NGINX) container listening on port 8888.
  3. The API Call: The JavaScript in this dashboard asks for data at the relative path /maryland-api/.... Because it is asking the same domain, your browser allows it.
  4. The Proxy Magic: HAProxy catches that specific /maryland-api/ request. It strips the prefix, spoofs the Host header, acts like a normal browser, and securely fetches the data from chartexp1.sha.maryland.gov.
  5. Delivery: HAProxy hands the government JSON data back to OpenResty, which hands it back to your browser.

Status: System Operational. Reverse Proxy Active.