The term "proxy" refers to a proxy is also known as an application called a proxy that acts in the role of an intermediary server and user on the internet. With no proxy in place, a user could submit a request for the source directly through a server and the server could serve the requested resource directly back at the requester's. This is a simple method to comprehend and implement, the addition of proxies can bring benefits like improved performance, privacy, security, and much more. As a pass-through layer, the proxy functions as a guardian for the internet between clients and servers.

Generally speaking, the combination of server hardware with proxy software is commonly called proxy servers. This article will focus on proxy servers that are typically classified as software specifically in relation to web servers. This article will give the full description of two types: the forward proxy and reverse proxy. reverse proxy. Each kind has its own unique usage scenario, which is often confused due to the same terminology.

This article will provide information about what proxy services and subtypes are, and the way they work in a variety of configurations. After reading this article, you'll be able to recognize the situations in which using proxies can be beneficial, and choose the right solution for reverse or forward proxy in any given scenario.

Understanding Forward Proxies

The forward proxy also referred to an open proxy serves as a representative for a customer who needs to make an internet-based request to the server that made it. In this scenario the entire effort to send requests from the user will be transmitted through the forward proxy. A forward proxy, acting in place of the client will take a look at the request. Then, it determines if this client is authorized to transmit requests using this specific forward proxy. Then, it decides to reject any request, or send it to the source server. The client is not able to have direct connection directly to internet. It can access only the content that forward proxy allows it to access.

A common use of forward proxy is to provide greater privacy or security while using the internet. Forward proxy can access the internet in place of a client and by doing this it may utilize a different IP address than the IP address that was originally used by the client.

Depending on how it's been configured depending on how it's set up forward proxy can provide you with different features based on how it is configured, which allows you to:

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  Don't fall victim of ad tracking.
  
  
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  Circumvent surveillance.
  
  
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  Recognize the restrictions based on your location.
  
  

Forward proxies can also be used to secure systems that are centralised as well as permission-based access for instance, such as at work. If all traffic on the internet passes through an open forward proxy an administrator is able to permit just a handful of users online access through the common firewall. Instead of establishing firewalls on the server layer, that could include a variety of devices that operate in different environments and types of users, a firewall could be installed in this intermediate layer of forward proxy.

It is important to remember that forward proxies need to be manually configured for use, whereas reverse proxies can not be detected by the user. Depending on the type of the IP address of a user is transferred to the server from which it originated through the forward proxy, privacy and anonymity can be granted or not.

There are a variety of possibilities to think about when it comes to forward proxy services.

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  Apache An open source well-known web server that offers forward proxy functions.
  
  
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  Nginx: Another popular open-source web server that has the ability to forward-proxy.
  
  
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  Squid: A no-cost forward proxy using an HTTP protocol. This doesn't offer the entire web server. We have an article about the best method to create Squid proxy for private connections on Ubuntu 20.04.
  
  
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  Dante is forward proxy which makes use of the SOCKS protocol instead of HTTP and HTTP making it more suitable for applications like peer-to-peer communication. You can also learn how to configure Dante proxy to permit private connections with Ubuntu 20.04
  
  

Understanding Reverse Proxies

A reverse proxy is a representative of the web server which manages any requests that come in from clients on behalf of. Web servers can comprise a server, or multiple servers. Additionally, it can be an application-server, such as Gunicorn. In any of these scenarios the request will originate from the internet at large. In the majority of cases the request will be sent directly to the webserver along with the resources the user is looking for. A reverse proxy serves as an intermediary and isolates the webserver from direct interaction via the open internet.

From the perspective of a user, the experience of interacting with reverse proxy isn't different from communicating with an internet server direct. It's basically the same, but the client can't be able to discern the difference. The client requests a resource and then receives it without further configuration needed by the client.

Reverse proxies offer features like:

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  Security centralized on webservers.
  
  
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  The direction of traffic coming in based on rules you set.
  
  
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  New feature added to caching.
  
  

While centralized security can be a benefit of both reverse and forward proxy servers. However, reverse proxy servers provide this service only to the layer that is the webserver, not clients. Instead of maintaining firewalls on the web server layer which could contain multiple servers with different configurations, the majority in firewall protection is aimed at the reverse proxy layer. In addition, getting rid of the responsibility of interfacing with firewalls and responding to requests from clients through web servers allows them to focus solely on addressing the requirements of their clients.

If there are multiple servers running reverse-proxies, the reverse proxy also handles the direction in which requests are directed towards which servers. Multiple web servers could be running within the same system, offering different kinds of resources, or a mix of the two. They can use the HTTP protocol as a traditional web server, but they may also be able to be equipped with applications server protocols, such as FastCGI. You can set up reverse proxy to direct visitors to specific servers based on the services requested, or to adhere to a set of rules for the traffic load.

Reverse proxies also gain from their placement on top of web servers, as they provide the ability to cache. Massive static files can be configured by using caching rules in order to avoid needing to connect with web servers each time you request. Certain solutions allow you to directly serve static content without having to interact with the webserver for even one time. In addition reverse proxy solutions are capable of handling the compression of these files.

The popular Nginx web server also functions as a well-known reverse proxy solution. Even though Apache is a reverse proxy service, the Apache web server does have reverse proxy features however, it's an additional feature that is available to Apache in contrast to Nginx was initially designed for focus upon the feature of reverse proxy.

Differentiating Forward Proxy from reverse Proxy Use The Case

Since "forward" or "reverse" are associated with a sense of directionality and misleading comparisons with "incoming" and "outgoing" traffic the labels could be confusing as both kinds of proxies handle both requests and replies. The best method to distinguish between reverse and forward proxy services is to take into account the requirements of the app you're developing.

Reverse proxy can be useful when building a solution to provide web-based applications over the internet. They are your web servers during any interaction on the web.

Forward proxy can be helpful when put before users for personal use, or even in an office setting. They represent your client's activity every time you connect to the internet.

Separating by use case rather than just focusing on the most the most common naming conventions will ensure that you aren't confused.

Conclusion

This article provides the definition of a proxy using the two major kinds, namely forward proxy and reverse proxy. Examples of practical use and an overview of advantageous features were utilized to distinguish between reverse and forward proxy. If you're keen to learn more about the advantages of proxies, you can check out our guide on how to configure Nginx as an internet server and reverse proxy in Apache on one Ubuntu 20.04 server.

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