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An proxy is also referred to as proxy server software that acts to act as an intermediary between client and server on the internet. Without a middleman, a customer would make a request the resource directly to the server and the server would serve the resource directly back for the client. While this process is simple to understand and apply, adding proxies provides advantages like increased performance, privacy and security, and many other. Alongside providing a layer of security they also act as a safeguard for the internet between clients and servers.




Generally speaking, the packaged server hardware with installed proxy software is often referred in the context of proxy servers. This article will concentrate on proxies traditionally defined as software and when referring to web servers. We will provide a brief overview of the two main types: one is a forward proxy and the other being a reverse proxy. reverse proxy. Each type has its own usage, which can be difficult due to the similar namesake convention.




This article will provide you with the understanding of the different types of proxy services, their subtypes are, as well as the ways they can be useful for the most common setups. In this article, you'll be in a position to recognize the scenarios that you can gain from a proxy and choose the best option between reverse and forward proxy in any situation.



Understanding Forward Proxies



Forward proxy also known by the name of an open proxy serves as the agent of a client who wants to forward requests via the internet to the server that initiated it. In this scenario it is the situation that all requests received from the client will instead be directed straight into the forward proxy. The forward proxy, acting in place of the client, will look at the request. At first, it will decide whether the client is allowed to make requests via this specific forward proxy. Then, it can either reject requests or redirect them to the origin server. The client is not allowed directly access to internet; it can only be able to access the information that the forward proxy enables its connection to.




One popular reason to use forward proxy is the desire for greater security or privacy on the internet. Forward proxy can access the internet as a client. In this process, it uses an additional IP address as opposed to the IP address of your client.




Based on the way it has been set up, and how it is configured forward proxy could perform a variety of tasks in addition to the ability to:




Beware of Ad-trackers.


Circumvent surveillance.


You can spot limitations based on your location.




Forward proxies also are used in systems of centralized security and access based upon permissions, like at work. If all internet traffic flows via an open forward proxy an administrator could restrict access to only certain users on the internet using an common firewall. Instead of establishing firewalls for the client layer which could contain multiple devices that have different configurations and user, a firewall can be installed at the forward proxy layer.




Be aware that forward proxies must be configured manually to utilize the reverse proxy, while forward proxies may not be noticed by the user. Based on the type of IP address the client, when it is sent to the origin server via forward proxy, privacy and anonymity might be granted or left transparent.




There are a myriad of options to consider forward proxy options:




Apache The Apache is a popular open-source web server, which offers forward proxy capabilities.


Nginx is another well-known open-source webserver with forward proxy capabilities.


Squid: A free and Open Source Forward Proxy using an HTTP protocol. It doesn't provide a complete web server application. It is possible to refer to our instructions on how to set up Squid proxy to allow private connections in Ubuntu 20.04.


Dante Forward Proxy that uses the SOCKS protocol instead of HTTP and is better suited for certain scenarios like peer-topeer communication. You could also find out how to configure Dante proxy to allow private connections on Ubuntu 20.04



Understanding Reverse Proxies



Reverse proxy functions acting as an intermediary for the web server. It manages the incoming requests of clients. The web server could serve as a single server, or multiple servers. Additionally, it can function as an app server such as Gunicorn. In any of these situations, a request would come from a user of the internet in general. Most of the time the request will be directed directly to a webserver that has all the information the user is seeks. A reverse proxy serves as an intermediary, protecting the webserver from direct interactions with the open internet.




From the perspective of the user's viewpoint the procedure of using reverse proxy isn't any different than working with the web server directly. It's basically the same, but the client cannot discern the distinction. Client makes a request for an item, and it is followed by receiving it, with no additional configuration required on the part of the client.




Reverse proxy proxies can provide options, such as:




Security centralized for web servers.


The direction of traffic that is based on rules that can be create.


The caching functionality is now available to users.




While central security is a benefit of both reverse and forward proxy services, reverse proxies provide this benefit to Web layer servers and not to the layer that clients use. instead of the maintenance of firewalls at Web server layers, which can contain multiple servers with various configurations, the majority of firewall security is concentrated at the reverse proxy layer. In addition, getting rid of the necessity of interfacing with a firewall and interfacing with requests made by clients through web servers allows them to concentrate on delivering resources.




In the case of multiple servers working behind a reverse proxy it also manages how requests are routed to which server. A number of web servers could be offering the same service, and each offering various kinds of resources or a combination of both. These servers could use their HTTP protocol to serve as a standard web server, but can also include applications server protocols such as FastCGI. You can create reverse proxy services to redirect clients to certain servers according to the resource requested, or to observe certain rules for traffic load.




Reverse proxies also can benefit from their position in front of web servers by virtue of caching. Massive static resources can be set up using caching rules in order that they avoid having to contact web servers for every request. There are solutions that offer the option to directly serve static assets without needing to connect to a web server at all. Furthermore, reverse proxy can handle compressing these assets.




The popular Nginx webserver is an effective reverse proxy solution. You can also use Nginx, Apache web server also comes with a reverse proxy as an additional feature of Apache which is in contrast to Nginx was originally designed to and focuses on reverse proxy functionality.



The difference between Forward Proxy and reverse Proxy Use. The difference between Forward Proxy and Reverse Proxy Use



Because "forward" or "reverse" have connotations of directionality, and false comparisons to "incoming" as well as "outgoing" traffic the labels can be confusing because both types of proxies are able to handle requests as well as responses. Instead, a better way to differentiate between forward and reverse proxy is to take into account the needs of the application that you are developing.




Reverse proxy can be useful when you're developing a solution to serve websites on the internet. They act as your web server for all interactions online.




Forward proxy applications are beneficial when employed in front of client traffic for your personal use or in a work setting. They are a representation of the client's web traffic in any internet-based interaction.




A case-based distinction instead of focusing on the similar naming conventions will help you avoid confusion.



Conclusion



In this article, we clarified the definition of a proxy and the two primary kinds of them that are the forward and reverse proxy. Practical applications and a glance at the beneficial traits were used in defining forward proxy as well as reverse proxies. If you're interested in knowing more about how proxies are implemented take a look at our tutorial on how to set up Nginx in a reverse proxy and internet-based server for Apache on an Ubuntu 20.04 Server.



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