An proxy, also called a proxy server, is a software which acts as an intermediary for client and server on the internet. Without proxy servers, a user would send a request for resources directly to the server and it would then serve the resource directly to the user. While this is a simple method to grasp and implement however, the addition of proxy servers can offer benefits like increased performance, privacy, security, and many more. In addition to providing pass-through, the proxy serves as a security guardian of the internet between servers and clients.

In general, the combination of server hardware and installed proxy software is also commonly described as a proxy server. This article will discuss the proxies that are usually described as software as well as in relation to web servers. The article will provide a detailed discussion of the two main kinds of proxies. One being one that is a forward proxy and the other a reverse proxy. reverse proxy. Each type has its own application and is often confused due to the resemblance of namesake convention.

This article will give you an understanding of different subtypes and proxies and their benefits for setups that are common. If you've read in this post, you'll understand the situations when the use of proxy servers is advantageous and choose the most appropriate option between reverse proxy and forward proxy based on the situation.

Understanding Forward Proxies

Forward proxy, also referred to as an open proxy is the agent of a customer who wants to send an internet request to an the server that made it. In this case every attempt to send requests from the client will instead be directed to the forward proxy. Forward proxy in lieu of the client, will examine the request. The first step is to find out if the client is authorized to accept requests from this specific forward proxy. It will then deny any request or forward it to its origin server. The client does not have an internet connection directly and can only access what the forward proxy allows it to access.

The primary reason for people to utilize forward proxies is the increased privacy or anonymity online. A forward proxy accesses the internet through clients and in this way, it could use an IP address that is different from the original IP address of the client.

Depending on how it's been configured, forward proxy will give you a range of options in addition to the ability to:

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  Beware of ads-trackers.
  
  
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  Circumvent surveillance.
  
  
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  Find restrictions based on your location.
  
  

Forward proxies are also utilized in systems that provide centralized security as well as access based on permissions, such as in a workplace. If all internet traffic passes through a common forward proxy, an administrator is in a position to grant only specific clients access to the internet using a common firewall. Instead of having firewalls for the client layer, which can involve many machines with varying settings and users and environments A firewall could be installed in an forward proxy layer.

It is important to remember to set forward proxy preferences must be manually set up to permit the use of these proxy servers in order to use them, while reverse proxies are able to not be detected by users. Based on an IP address belonging to a user is sent to the server from which it originated via the forward proxy, privacy and security may be granted or not.

There are many options to consider for forward proxy options:

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  Apache A well-known open source web server with forward proxy capabilities.
  
  
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  Nginx A renowned open-source web hosting server with forward proxy capabilities.
  
  
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  Squid is a free forward proxy that runs on the HTTP protocol. It's not the full web server system. We recommend our guide on the best method of configuring Squid proxy to handle connection to private networks in Ubuntu 20.04.
  
  
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  Dante Forward proxy that makes use of the SOCKS protocol instead of HTTP and HTTP, which makes it more suited to cases like peer-to-peer traffic. It is also possible to learn how to configure Dante proxy to allow secure connections within Ubuntu 20.04
  
  

Understanding Reverse Proxies

Reverse proxy serves as an intermediary for a web server, and handles requests from clients for the web server. Web servers can function as a single server or a number of servers. It could also function as an app server, such as Gunicorn. In any event, the request for an application comes from a user via the internet in general. The request will typically go directly to the server that hosts the information that the user is searching for. The reverse proxy serves as an intermediary to isolate your server from interaction with the internet's open.

From a consumer's point the consumer's perspective, working with reverse proxy doesn't differ from interacting with the web server directly. It's basically similar, however the client isn't able to tell the distinction. The client requests an item and gets it with no additional configuration needed from the user.

Reverse proxy providers provide features like:

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  The server for the web is secure centrally.
  
  
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  Sending traffic to be directed in accordance with the rules you have set.
  
  
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  The caching functionality was added to the application.
  
  

While central security is an advantage of both forward and reverse proxy, reverse proxies do this function only for just the Web server layer and not to the client layer. Instead of maintaining firewalls on Web server layers which may contain multiple servers with various configurations, the bulk in firewall protection is aimed at the reverse proxy layer. Furthermore, taking the responsibility of connecting to a firewall and interacting with requests from clients off web servers enables them to concentrate on providing resources.

In the case of multiple servers that have a reverse proxy, the reverse proxy is also accountable for deciding what requests are routed to which server. There could be multiple web servers that are running from the same host, all serving various kinds of resources, or a combination of both. These servers may use the HTTP protocol, which is similar to a traditional web server. They can also include applications server protocols such as FastCGI. It is also possible to configure reverse proxy settings to redirect the clients towards specific servers depending on the service being requested, or to observe certain guidelines regarding traffic load.

Reverse proxies can also take advantage of their placement over web servers through the capability of caching. Large static assets can be configured with caching rules to avoid getting into web servers for every request, with some solutions even allowing the provision of static files in a direct manner without linking to the web server in any way. Additionally, reverse proxy is able to handle the compression of these assets.

The popular Nginx webserver is an extremely popular reverse proxy option. Although it's not a reverse proxy, the Apache web server also comes with a reverse proxy option as an added feature that is available for Apache however Nginx was originally designed to and is focused on the reverse proxy function.

Distinguishing Forward Proxy from Reverse Proxy Use Situations

Since "forward" along with "reverse" are associated with the notion of directionality as well as misleading comparisons with "incoming" and "outgoing" traffic. These labels can be confusing, because both types of proxies can be used to respond to requests and responses. A different method of distinguishing between reverse and forward proxy servers would be to analyze the specifications of the software you are developing.

Reverse proxy is a useful tool when you are creating a solution for serving web applications on the internet. They represent your web servers in any interaction with the Internet.

Forward proxy is a great tool to have facing clients for personal use or in a work environment. They can be used to represent the traffic of your clients when you interact with the internet.

A distinction that is based on the use case instead of focusing on the common name conventions can aid you in avoidance of confusion.

Conclusion

The article explained what a proxy is as well as two types of them: the forward proxy and reverse proxy. Practical examples of use as well as a discussion of most useful features were used to distinguish forward proxies from reverse proxies. If you'd like to explore the ways to use proxies, we recommend you read our guide on how to set up Nginx as an reverse proxy and internet server for Apache running the Ubuntu 20.04 server.

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