webserver - web server and various redirect -

how can take request web server , turn on, perhaps, several request web server on other hosts , on, until, 1 or more of various web server obtain response, , return client initiated request.

it sounds asking this:

[client] --> [your webserver] ----> [multitude of servers]

1. client initiates request webserver
2. your web server issues request 1 or more remote webservers
3. when @ least 1 of remote webservers answers or when timeout runs out, webserver sends response client.

if asking, scope broad. ie, implementation sitting between? python question? :)

if of multitude of servers on backend same , controlled you, server sitting in front going load balancer or proxy server. ala ha-proxy, nginx, apache, varnish, etc.

if talking setting site partial proxy or web scraping or data capture, else entirely.

in either case, question/case vague, posted.

edit: in response comment.

that's not particularly difficult. need setup python daemon process, listens on web port. depending on how want file reading behaviour work, can either read file in @ startup, in memory, or can take performance hit , read file each attempt.

initiating connection remote sites matter of constructing , calling appropriate python library.

to create python web server:

http://docs.python.org/2/library/simplehttpserver.html

to initiate connection remote sites:

using python http libraries: http://docs.python.org/2/library/httplib.html

building python web client: http://python.about.com/od/networkingwithpython/ss/beg_web_client_all.htm

python web scraping: web scraping python http://scrapy.org/

what describing not ideal way perform task. better off haproxy/nginx in regard. however, given requirement python, above resource links point in right direction.