It is an proxy commonly known as a proxy server is software that acts as an intermediary between the client and server on the web. Without proxy servers, users will send a request for resource directly to a server and it would serve direct to users. It's not hard to understand and implement the addition of proxies can bring benefits such as greater performance as well as privacy, security and many more. In addition to providing a layer of pass-through, they serve as a security barrier on the internet, separating clients and servers.

It is generally accepted that the set of server hardware along with the software used to install proxy is commonly referred to by the name proxy servers. This article will concentrate on proxies that are typically thought of as software, and also in relation to web servers. The article will offer details of the two main kinds of proxies. They are a forward proxy and reverse proxy. reverse proxy. Each has its own use case, often confused due to the similar naming convention.

This article will give you an overview of what proxies and their subtypes are, as well as how they work in the normal configurations. In this guide, you'll learn how to recognize the situations that using proxies can be beneficial and how to choose the correct solution in between reverse and forward proxy, depending on the situation.

Understanding Forward Proxies

In the same way forward proxy also called an open proxy serves as the representative of a customer who would like to make requests through on the web to an original server. In this case any attempts to send requests made by the client are instead forwarded via the forward proxy. In this case, the forward proxy in place that of the user will examine the request. It is the first thing to determine if the client is authorized to accept requests from this specific forward proxy. The client will either decline the request or forward it to its original server. The client doesn't have a direct connection to the internet; it can only access what the forward proxy allows the client to access.

The primary reason for people to use forward proxies is to increase privacy or security on the internet. A forward proxy utilizes the internet in lieu of a client, and in that process it may use a different IP address to the initial IP address of the client.

Depending on how it's been configured, and based on the way it's configured, forward proxy may offer many features as well as the capability to:

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  Avoid ad tracking.
  
  
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  Circumvent surveillance.
  
  
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  Find restrictions based on your geographic place of residence.
  
  

Forward proxies are also employed in systems that provide centralized security and access that is based on permissions such as in a workplace. If all internet traffic flows through an open forward proxy layer, administrators can grant access only to a few users who are filtered by an ordinary firewall. Instead of putting firewalls in place for the client layer which could include various devices with various settings, users and environments, a firewall may be set up at the forward proxy layer.

Note that forward proxy server need to be manually set up for use in order to be used, while reverse proxy servers are able to be not recognized by clients. Depending on whether an IP address from the client has been transferred to the origin server through the forward proxy privacy and anonymity could get granted, or even made more transparent.

There are many options to look into to find forward proxy options

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  Apache The Apache is a popular open-source web server, which offers forward proxy capabilities.
  
  
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  Nginx: Another well-known open-source webserver that has forward proxy capabilities.
  
  
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  Squid: A free forward proxy based on the HTTP protocol. This doesn't offer the entire web server. You can check out our article on the best method of creating Squid proxy that allows private connections within Ubuntu 20.04.
  
  
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  Dante Forward proxy that makes use of the SOCKS protocol instead of HTTP, making it better suited for scenarios such as peer-to-peer connections. It is also possible to know how to setup a Dante proxy for private connections on Ubuntu 20.04
  
  

Understanding Reverse Proxies

A reverse proxy acts as an agent for web servers, taking care of incoming requests from customers on its behalf. The web server could comprise a single server, or even multiple servers. Additionally, it can be used in the role of an application server, such as Gunicorn. In any case, a request could originate from a user on the web at large. The majority of the time, this request will be directly to the web server which has the resources the client is in need of. In contrast, a reverse proxy functions as an intermediary in order to protect your web server from interactions with the internet's public.

From a client's perspective the experience when using reverse proxy isn't different than communicating directly with your webserver. It's functionally identical, and the user cannot tell the distinction. Client requests resources and is then able to receive it without any additional configuration from the user.

Reverse proxies provide options like:

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  Centralized security for web servers.
  
  
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  The sending of traffic in accordance with rules you set up.
  
  
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  New caching functionality has been added.
  
  

While central security can be a benefit of both reverse and forward proxy platforms, reverse proxy offers this service only to the server layer and not to the layer that clients use. instead of maintaining firewalls for servers on the internet that could include multiple servers with different configurations, the majority of firewall security can be focused to the reverse proxy layer. Additionally, getting rid of the hassle of connecting to a firewall as well as dealing with requests from clients far from web servers permits them to focus solely on addressing the needs of their clients.

In the case of multiple servers that are in a reverse proxy, the reverse proxy also is responsible for controlling which requests go on which server. There could be multiple web servers offering the same service, serving various kinds of resources, or a mix of both. They may use the HTTP protocol as a conventional web server, but can also be equipped with application server protocols like FastCGI. A reverse proxy is used to connect clients to particular servers based on the kind of resource they are seeking, or to adhere to specific rules for traffic volume.

Reverse proxies benefit from their position on top of web servers through the capability to store data. The large static file can also be set up using caching rules to prevent hitting web servers on each request. Certain solutions allow you to serve static content directly without ever touching the web server in any way. Furthermore reverse proxy is capable of the compression of these assets.

The popular Nginx web server is an effective reverse proxy service. Although it is real that Apache web server is also equipped with reverse-proxy capabilities, however it's a distinct attribute of Apache however Nginx was originally designed for and focuses on the reverse proxy function.

The distinction between Forward and Reverse Proxy Use Differentiating Forward Proxy and Reverse Proxy Utilization

Because "forward" along with "reverse" are associated with directionality, and can lead to misleading comparisons with "incoming" and "outgoing" traffic These labels can be confusing since both kinds of proxies are able to handle requests and also respond. Instead, a better way to distinguish between reverse proxy as well as forward proxies would be to look at the requirements of the application that you're creating.

Reverse proxy is an important aspect to consider when developing a solution that allows web-based applications on the internet. They function as servers whenever you connect to the internet.

Forward proxy can be useful when placed in front of individuals for personal use or even in a business environment. They represent your clients when you interact with the internet.

A case-based approach to differentiation rather than focusing exclusively on naming conventions that are similar can prevent confusion.

Conclusion

The article clarified what a proxy was along with the two types of them being the reverse and forward proxy. Examples of practical application scenarios and a review of features that are useful were used to distinguish between forward and reverse proxy. If you're interested to learn more about the advantages of proxies then you can read our tutorial on how to configure Nginx as an internet server and reverse proxy in Apache in the Ubuntu 20.04 server.