I tend to agree with @ohadlevy - it's far from unusual for a before_filter to set a variable for methods to then consume. This is no different, the smart_proxy_auth filters can provide the proxy that was matched, should a method wish to use it. I can think of several places in the codebase that would be useful.

I'd also like to avoid messing with Resolv, we have enough issues with that today as it is. Let the filters handle the identification - if it provides a usable proxy, set it on the Host.