An proxy often referred to as a proxy server, is software which serves as an intermediary between a client and server over the internet. Without proxy, a user will send a request directly to a server and it would deliver that resource to its user directly. While this procedure is easy to understand and implement using proxies, it can offer benefits in terms of improved performance as well as privacy, security and much more. As an additional layer of protection, a proxy acts as a guardian to the internet between servers and clients.

It is generally accepted that the bundle of server hardware with installed proxy software is often called a proxy server. In this article, we will concentrate on proxy servers which are usually described as software, and also within the context of web servers. We will provide a description of the two main types of proxies: the forward proxy and a reverse proxy. Each has its own application, and is frequently confused due to the similar name convention.

This article will give you an understanding of what proxy services and their subtypes, and their importance in standard setups. Through this article, you'll be able to understand how to recognize the situations that a good proxy could be useful and select the best solution in between forward and reverse proxy depending on the circumstance.

Understanding Forward Proxies

A forward proxy also called an open proxy acts as an intermediary between a client that is trying to send a request via the internet to an source server. In this instance, any request sent by the user will be directed direct to the forward proxy. A forward proxy in the client's place, will review the request. First, it will determine if the client is allowed access to requests made by this specific forward proxy. It will then reject any request or forward it to the server that originally received it. The client has no connection to any internet. It can access only the web pages that forward proxy gives the client access.

A very common applications of forward proxies is to increase privacy or security when using the internet. Forward proxy makes use of the internet as a client, and in the process, it will use an alternate IP address in addition to the client's IP address.

Based on the way it was configured, based on the way it's configured, forward proxy may offer a range of features depending upon the configuration, which allows users to:

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  Avoid tracking ads.
  
  
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  Circumvent surveillance.
  
  
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  You will be able to identify any restrictions based on your geographical place of residence.
  
  

Forward proxies are also utilized in systems that provide central security and access to users based on permissions, for instance at the workplace. Internet traffic can go through an open forward proxy. administrators are able to restrict access to certain clients on the internet that is protected by a common firewall. Instead of having firewalls installed for the client layer that can include multiple devices that have different configurations and users you can set up a firewall at the layer that forwards proxy traffic.

Take note that forward proxy settings need to be set manually for use, but reverse proxies are likely to be disregarded by the client. Depending on whether your IP address the user is sent to the server from where it originated via the forward proxy, privacy and security can be granted or hidden.

There are many choices to be considered for forward proxy options:

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  Apache is a well-known open-source web server, that offers forward-looking proxy features.
  
  
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  Nginx: Another well-known open-source server for web hosting with forward proxy features.
  
  
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  Squid: A free forward proxy that uses the HTTP protocol. It's not the whole web server. Check out our tutorial on how to install Squid proxy for private connections on Ubuntu 20.04.
  
  
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  Dante is a forward proxy that utilizes the SOCKS protocol instead of HTTP to make it better suited for cases like peer-to-peer connections. It is also possible to look at how you can create a Dante proxy to allow connection to private networks in Ubuntu 20.04
  
  

Understanding Reverse Proxies

Reverse proxy functions as the web server which handles all requests received from customers on its behalf. The web server may represent a single, or multiple servers. It could additionally be an app server, such as Gunicorn. In any of these situations an application request comes through the internet. Most of the time the request will be sent directly to the server with the resources the client is requesting. However, a reverse proxy serves as an intermediary, and separates your web server from contact with the open internet.

From the viewpoint of the client an individual's perspective reverse proxy is a process that reverse proxy isn't different from connecting to a Web server through direct communication. It's the same process and the client is unable to discern the distinction. The client makes a request for an item, and it is followed by receiving it without the need for any additional configurations required for the user.

Reverse proxy providers offer options like:

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  A centralized layer of security that protects the server.
  
  
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  Incoming traffic is directed based on the rules you define.
  
  
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  New feature added to caching.
  
  

While centralized security is a benefit of both reverse and forward proxy, reverse proxies do this for the web server layer but not to the client layer. Instead of focusing on upkeep of firewalls on the web server layer, which can contain a variety of servers with different configurations, most of firewall security is targeted towards the reverse proxy layer. Also, the removal of the responsibility of interacting with firewalls and interacting with requests from clients far from web servers enables them to focus on meeting the requirements of their clients.

If there are multiple servers running through a reverse proxy, the reverse proxy is also responsible to direct which requests are routed through which server. There could be multiple web servers providing identical content, but providing different types of services or a mixture of the two. These servers can be using the HTTP protocol that is the standard web server, but they can also contain different protocols for application servers like FastCGI. You can also set up reverse proxy settings to direct users to a particular server based on the service requested or to comply with specific guidelines on the volume of traffic.

Reverse proxies also take advantage of their location on top of web servers, as they have the capability to store data. The large static files can be configured using caching rules to prevent the web server from being hit with every request. Certain applications allow users to serve static files directly without connecting to servers on the internet in any manner. In addition reverse proxy solutions can handle compressing these assets.

The popular Nginx web server can also function as a well-known reverse proxy service. While there is an equivalent feature available within the Apache web server does have a reverse proxy features as an additional feature that is available for Apache however Nginx was initially designed to and is specifically designed for reverse proxy functions.

Differentiating Forward Proxy from Reverse Proxy Usage Situations

Since "forward" along with "reverse" conveys the notion of directionality, as well as misleading comparisons to "incoming" and "outgoing" traffic These labels could be confusing because both kinds of proxy systems process requests as well as responses. Better yet, the best method to differentiate between the reverse and forward proxy types is to study the requirements of the app that you're building.

Reverse proxy is useful when designing an application that can serve websites online. They represent your web servers when you use the internet.

Forward proxy are helpful when displayed in front of customers for your own usage or in a work environment. They represent the traffic of your clients when they interact with the internet.

The use of case-based differentiation instead of focusing on the commonly used naming conventions can help in eliminating confusion.

Conclusion

In this article, we explained what a proxy is and the two primary kinds that are forward and reverse proxy. Practical applications as well as a review of the benefits were used to determine forward proxies as well as reverse proxies. If you're interested in learning more about the implementation of proxy servers then you should check out our tutorial on how you can set up Nginx as a reverse and web server proxy for Apache on an Ubuntu 20.04 server.

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