It is a proxy is also referred to a proxy server is software that sits as a mediator between a client and server over the internet. Without proxy, a user would make a request a resource directly to a server and it would serve that resource to its user directly. While this approach is straightforward to comprehend and implement, the addition of proxies can provide advantages in the form of more performance and privacy, security and much more. As an additional layer of moving through, a proxy acts as a security guard for the internet between clients and servers.




The general consensus is this: the mix of hardware for servers and the software that is installed to make proxy connections is commonly called proxy servers. This article we'll examine proxies commonly described as software, as well as those used together to web server. This article will present the full description of two types of proxies: that is the forward proxy and one called a reverse proxy. Each comes with its own specific use case that is frequently confused due to the same name convention.




This article will provide an understanding of what proxies are and what they are subtypes of, as well as the ways they can prove useful in common configurations. After reading this article you'll learn to identify the circumstances in which a proxy is advantageous, and choose the appropriate choice for reverse or forward proxy for any particular situation.



Understanding Forward Proxies



The forward proxy, also known in the form of open proxy. An open proxy is a representative of a client who is trying to route an internet request to an the server that originated it. In this case, it's the scenario that all requests made by the client will rather be directed to the forward proxy. In this situation the forward proxy, instead of the client will examine the request. At the beginning, it will decide whether the client is permitted to transmit requests through this particular forward proxy. It then decides whether to reject the request or send it back to its original server. It isn't able to directly connect to the internet. It only has access to what the forward proxy permits it to access.




The most common use for forward proxy is to achieve more privacy or security on the internet. A forward proxy connects to the internet as an individual client. In this process, it can make use of a different IP address comparison to the original IP address that is used by the client.




Based on the way it was set up in the past, forward proxy servers can provide a range of choices, allowing you to:




Stay clear of tracking ads.


Circumvent surveillance.


Determine restrictions based on location of residence.




Forward proxies can also be used in systems that offer central security and permission based access, like in the workplace. In the event that all internet traffic flows via an open forward proxy,, the administrator is able to permit only a small number of clients connection to internet, which is then filtered by a common firewall. Instead of establishing firewalls for the client layer, which could include multiple computers that have different environments and users, the firewall can be placed at the layer which forwards proxy traffic.




Remember that forward proxies have to be manually setup to be used, while reverse proxies can be ignored by clients. Depending on whether the IP address of the client is transmitted to the server that originated it via the forward proxy, privacy and anonymity could get granted, or even made more transparent.




There are a myriad of possibilities to consider when it comes to forward proxy options:




Apache An open-source, well-known web server that provides forward proxy features.


Nginx: Another renowned open-source webserver with forward proxy capabilities.


Squid is an open source forward proxy that utilizes an HTTP protocol. This option doesn't include an entire web server service. Read our article on the most efficient method of setting up Squid proxy for secure connections on Ubuntu 20.04.


Dante forward proxy which uses the SOCKS protocol rather than HTTP which makes it more suitable for use scenarios like peer-to-peer communication. You might also want to check out how to setup the Dante proxy to allow private connections in Ubuntu 20.04



Understanding Reverse Proxies



Reverse proxy is a representative of a server on the internet that handles requests from customers on its behalf. The web server may represent one or more servers. Furthermore, it could be an application server, like Gunicorn. In any of these cases, it is possible to receive a request via a user on the web at large. Most of the time, the request will be directed directly to the server along with the data the user is seeking. Reverse proxy, however, acts as an intermediary and isolates your server from interactions with the internet.




From the perspective of a customer from the perspective of a customer, using a reverse proxy is no different than communicating with your webserver directly. It's basically the same and the client can't discern the difference. The client requests a resource which is followed by receiving it, without any extra configuration required by the end-user.




Reverse proxy proxies may offer some features, including:




Secured centrally for Web Server Layer.


Sending traffic to be directed according to the rules you can establish.


Additional functionality to cache data.




While central security can be a benefit of both reverse and forward proxy services, reverse proxy provides this benefit only to the server layer, and not to the layer that connects to the client. Instead of the need to maintain firewalls on the web server layer which may include multiple servers that have different configurations, the majority of firewall security is concentrated on the reverse proxy layer. In addition, the removal of the requirement of working with firewalls as well as communicating with requests from clients who aren't connected to web servers allows firewalls to focus on the needs of their customers.




If there are multiple servers behind a reverse proxy, the reverse proxy will also take care of how requests are routed on the server. Multiple web servers may be operating from the exact same computer, serving various kinds of resources or a mix of the two. They can be using the HTTP protocol in the same way as a traditional web server. They may also include protocols for applications such as FastCGI. It is possible to set up a reverse proxy to direct clients to specific servers according to the type of resource they are looking for, or to adhere to certain rules for traffic load.




Reverse proxies also can profit by their position ahead of web servers through the capability of caching. Large static assets can be configured using caching guidelines to avoid the web server from being hit on every request, with certain solutions giving the option to directly serve static resources without needing to connect to the web server even once. Additionally reverse proxy is able to be able to handle compression of these assets.




The well-known Nginx web server is also known as a reverse proxy provider. Although the Apache web server is also equipped with reverse proxy features however it's a distinct feature available only for Apache however Nginx was originally designed and was designed to perform reverse proxy functionality.



Differentiating Forward and Reverse Proxy Use Differentiating Forward Proxy and Reverse Proxy Use



Due to the fact that "forward" or "reverse" have connotations of directionality, as well as false comparisons to "incoming" as well as "outgoing" traffic. These labels can be confusing as both kinds of proxy can manage requests and responses. A better approach to distinguish between reverse and forward proxy is to look at the specifications of the application you're creating.




A reverse proxy can be helpful in the development of a system to deliver web-based applications over the internet. They act as your servers when you interact with the internet.




Forward proxy are useful when used in front of the client for personal use or in a workplace setting. They are a representation of your traffic whenever you use the internet.




A distinction based on use case instead of focusing solely at similar names will assist you in avoiding confusion.



Conclusion



This article explains the definition of a proxy, which includes two main kinds: the forward proxy and the reverse proxy. Practical application scenarios and a review of the beneficial features was used to distinguish between forward proxy and reverse proxies. If you're interested in learning more about the possibilities of proxies, then take a look at our tutorial on how to configure Nginx as reverse and web server proxy for Apache on an Ubuntu 20.04 server.



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