It is a proxy is also referred to as proxy server, which is a software that acts as a mediator between client and server on internet. Without proxy, a user would make a request the resource directly to the server and it would serve that resource to its user directly. This is a simple method to comprehend and implement, the addition of proxies can provide advantages such as better performance, privacy, security, and much more. As an additional layer of moving between, it functions as a security guard for the internet, separating clients and servers.

The majority of people agree this: the mix of hardware for servers and the software that is installed to make proxy connections is commonly called proxy servers. For this post, we will concentrate on proxies that are typically described in terms of software as and those employed in conjunction using web servers. This article will present a detailed breakdown of two types of proxy which are a forward proxy and one called a reverse proxy. Each comes with its own specific use case and is often misunderstood due to the identical namesake convention.

This article will provide you with some knowledge about the different types of proxy and their subtypes, and the ways they can prove useful in common configurations. Through this article, you'll be able to discern the scenarios that a proxy could be beneficial, and decide on the best forward proxy or reverse proxy in any given situation.

Understanding Forward Proxies

The forward proxy sometimes known as open proxy. An open proxy is a representative of a user who attempts to transmit a request through the internet to an origin server. In this case, it's the situation that all requests coming from the client will rather be sent to the forward proxy. In this scenario, the forward proxy in place of the client will examine the request. In the beginning, it will decide whether the client is allowed to send requests via this particular forward proxy. It then decides whether to refuse this request and forward it to the source server. It's not able directly connect via the Internet. It only has access to what the forward proxy allows the forward proxy to connect.

A typical use of forward proxies is for more privacy or protection online. A forward proxy connects to the internet as an individual client. In this manner, it may use another IP address in opposition to the IP address that is used by the client.

Depending on how they were configured in the past, forward proxy servers can provide a range of choices, allowing you to:

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  Stay clear of tracking ads.
  
  
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  Circumvent surveillance.
  
  
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  Find restrictions based on your place of residence.
  
  

Forward proxies are also used in systems to provide central security as well as permission-based access, like at work. If all internet traffic passes through an open forward proxy layer, the administrator is able to grant only a handful of users online access, which is filtered by a standard firewall. Instead of establishing firewalls at the level of client which could include multiple computers with different user and environment the firewall could be installed on the layer that is responsible for forwarding proxy data.

Keep in mind that forward proxy servers have to be set up manually prior to use, whereas reverse proxies are often not recognized by clients. Based on the fact that the IP address of the client is sent to the origin server through the forward proxy, privacy and anonymity could be granted or made transparent.

There are a myriad of options to be considered when it comes to forward proxy options:

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  Apache An open source, well-known web server with forward proxy capabilities.
  
  
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  Nginx: Another renowned open-source web server that has forward proxy features.
  
  
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  Squid is an open source forward proxy that utilizes an HTTP protocol. It does not include the entire web server service. Read our article on the best method to set up Squid proxy for secure connections on Ubuntu 20.04.
  
  
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  Dante forward proxy that makes use of the SOCKS protocol rather than HTTP which makes it more suitable for use scenarios like peer-to-peer communication. It is also possible to check out how to configure an Dante proxy to allow private connections in Ubuntu 20.04
  
  

Understanding Reverse Proxies

Reverse proxy is a representation of a web server that manages requests from customers on its behalf. The web server may represent one or more servers. Additionally, it could represent an application server such as Gunicorn. In any of these scenarios, a request could come in via the internet in general. In most cases the request will be directed directly to the server with the resources that the user wants. Reverse proxy, however, serves as an intermediary, and blocks your web server from interaction with the internet.

From a user's point of view from a client's perspective reverse proxy isn't any different from communicating directly with your webserver directly. It's basically the same and the client can't discern the difference. Client requests a resource, and then receives it, without any additional configuration needed for the end user.

Reverse proxy proxies are able to provide options, such as:

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  Centrally secured for Web Server Layer.
  
  
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  Sending traffic to be directed according to the rules you set up.
  
  
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  Additional features for caching.
  
  

Although central security is an advantage of both forward and reverse proxy service, reverse proxies give this benefit to only the server layer, not to the layer that connects to the client. Instead of the maintenance of firewalls at the layer of web servers which can contain several servers with various configurations, the bulk of firewall security is concentrated on the reverse proxy layer. Furthermore, removing the obligation of working with firewalls as well as communicating with requests from clients that are not connected to web servers allows firewalls to focus on meeting the needs of their clients.

If there are multiple servers that are in a reverse proxy, the reverse proxy also takes care of how requests are routed on which server. Multiple web servers could be operating from the exact same computer, providing 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 can also use applications server protocols such as FastCGI. It is possible to set up reverse proxy servers to send clients to specific servers according to the type of resource they are searching for, or comply with certain rules regarding traffic load.

Reverse proxies also profit from their positioning ahead of web servers through the capacity of caching. Large static assets are able to be configured using caching rules to prevent the web server from being hit on every request, with certain services giving the option to serve static files directly without needing to connect to the web server even once. Additionally reverse proxy is able to handle the compression of these assets.

The well-known Nginx web server also functions as an acknowledged reverse proxy feature. Although the Apache web server is also equipped with a reverse proxy function it's an additional feature available only for Apache while Nginx was initially developed for and focused on reverse proxy functionality.

Distinguishing Forward and Reverse Proxy Use Differentiating Forward Proxy and reverse Proxy Use

Due to the fact that "forward" as well as "reverse" have connotations of directionality, and false comparisons to "incoming" in addition to "outgoing" traffic These labels are confusing because both kinds of proxy can be used to respond to requests as well as responses. An alternative method to differentiate between reverse and forward proxy is to look at the specifications of the application you're developing.

A reverse proxy could be beneficial in the development of a solution to provide web-based applications on the internet. They act as your servers whenever you connect to the internet.

Forward proxy are beneficial when they are used by the client for personal use or in a work environment. They can be used to represent the traffic of your clients whenever you use the internet.

A distinction that is based on the use case instead of focusing solely on similar naming conventions will assist you in avoiding confusion.

Conclusion

This article clarifies the meaning of a proxy with the two major types that are forward proxy and the reverse proxy. Practical application scenarios and a review of the beneficial features was utilized to distinguish forward proxies and reverse proxies. If you're interested in exploring the possibilities of proxies, then you can check out our tutorial on how you can configure Nginx as a reverse proxy and web server proxy on Apache on one Ubuntu 20.04 server.

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