Eight Questions You Need To Ask About Proxy Sites

A proxy, also known as a proxy can also be referred to by the name of a proxy. is a program that acts to act as an intermediary for a client and server via the internet. In the absence of a proxy server, a client would send a request for anything directly to the server and servers would provide any requested resources directly to the client. While this approach is straightforward to grasp and use however the addition of proxy servers could provide advantages including increased performance, privacy and security, and so on. As an additional layer of pass-through, proxies act as a guardian for the internet between clients and servers.




The consensus is that the system of server hardware coupled with installed proxy software is commonly referred as proxy servers. However, this article will focus on proxy servers that are typically categorized as software, and specifically in relation to web servers. This article will provide a brief overview of the two major types of proxies: a forward proxy and a reverse proxy. Each kind has a distinct usage, which can be confusing due to the same namestamp.




This article will provide you with an understanding of types of proxies, their subtypes, and their value in common configurations. By reading this article you'll understand the situations when you can benefit by a proxy and decide on the appropriate option between reverse proxy and forward proxy for any scenario.



Understanding Forward Proxies



Forward proxy sometimes called an open proxy acts as an agent for a user who wants to send a request via the internet to a source server. In this instance, any request sent by the client will be handled by this forward proxy. A forward proxy acting in position of the customer will examine the request. It first will determine if the client is authorized to accept requests through this specific forward proxy. Then, it can either reject requests or send it back to source server. The client will not be allowed an internet connection directly; it can only be capable of accessing the information that the forward proxy allows the access.




A very popular reasons for forward proxy is greater privacy or security on the internet. A forward proxy is able to access the internet in lieu of a client's individual account, and could use an alternative IP address in comparison to the IP address that is used by the user.




Depending on how it's configured, based on the way it is configured forward proxy can provide a range of features that allow you to:




Avoid tracking ads.


Circumvent surveillance.


Establish restrictions based upon geolocation.




Forward proxies can also be used in systems that provide central security and permit-based access, like at a workplace. In the event that all internet traffic flows through a common forward proxy layer an administrator is able to allow only specific clients access to the internet. This is filtered by an common firewall. Instead of putting firewalls in place for the client layer, which could involve many machines with varying configurations and users, a firewall may be placed on an intermediary layer.




Remember that forward proxies must be set up manually for use, while reverse proxy servers could be not recognized from the clients. Based on the kind of IP address the client, it is transmitted to the server which originated it by the forward proxy security and privacy can be made transparent.




There are many options to take into consideration for forward proxy:




Apache is an well-known open-source web server that provides forward proxy capability.


Nginx is another popular open-source webserver that includes forward proxy capability.


Squid is an open source forward proxy that makes use of an HTTP protocol. It does not contain the whole web server. You can refer to our article on the best way for installing Squid proxy to allow private connections in Ubuntu 20.04.


Dante is an forward proxy that utilizes the SOCKS protocol instead of HTTP this makes it more suitable for scenarios like peer-to-peer traffic. You can also check out how to set up a Dante proxy to allow secure connections within Ubuntu 20.04



Understanding Reverse Proxies



Reverse proxy is the web server, which handles the requests of customers on behalf of the server. The server could function as a one server, or a number of servers. In addition, it could contain an application server such as Gunicorn. In any of these situations the request will be made via the web in general. Most of the time, the request is sent directly to the web server along with all the information the client requires. A reverse proxy functions as an intermediary, segregating your web server from communication with the web's public.




From a consumer's point of viewpoint from the perspective of a client reverse proxy is not different from connecting to an internet server direct. It's basically the same, but clients aren't aware of the difference. The client requests the resource, and receives it without any further configuration required by the client.




Reverse proxies provide features such as:




A centralized layer of security to protect the server.


Directing incoming traffic based on rules that you can establish.


A new feature for caching is now available.




While central security is an advantage of both forward and reverse proxy solutions, reverse proxies give this feature only to only the server layer and not the client layer. instead of maintaining firewalls on the server level which could include multiple servers with different configurations, the bulk of firewall security could be concentrated on the reverse proxy layer. Furthermore, taking the responsibility of dealing with firewalls as well as interacting with requests from clients not connected to web servers permits them to focus on only the needs of their customers.




In the case of multiple servers hosted by reverse proxy it also handles the routing of requests to the server that is hosting them. Multiple servers may be serving the same resource, providing different kinds of resources or a mixture of both. They can utilize the HTTP protocol to function as a standard web server, but they can additionally include application server protocols such as FastCGI. It is possible to set up reverse proxy that routes clients to particular servers based on the requested source, and to adhere to specific rules regarding traffic volume.




Reverse proxies may also utilize their position before web servers by offering the ability to cache. Large static files can be set with caching rules that prevent reaching web servers every time you request. There are solutions that offer the option of serving static content without needing to communicate with the webserver at all. In addition, reverse proxy is able to handle compressing these assets.




The well-known Nginx webserver is known as a very popular reverse proxy option. It is true that the Apache web server is able to use reverse proxy capabilities, it is an additional feature that is available to Apache however Nginx was originally designed to and focuses on reverse proxy functionality.



Differentiating Forward Proxy and reverse Proxy Examples



Because "forward" as well as "reverse" are both associated with the perception of directionality, they can lead to inaccurate comparisons to "incoming" or "outgoing" traffic could be confusing because both kinds of proxies handle requests and response. The best way to differentiate between reverse and forward proxy servers would be to analyze the needs of the application that you are building.




Reverse proxy is a vital feature in the development of a method to run websites on the internet. They function as your servers whenever you connect to the Internet.




Forward proxy is useful to display customers' information to your personal use or even in a workplace. The forward proxy is a representation of the information of the customer when you connect to the internet.




A distinction based on use case rather than focusing only on similar naming conventions can help avoid confusion.



Conclusion



This article clarified the meaning of a proxy with two kinds of proxy being the reverse and forward proxy. Practical applications and an examination of the beneficial attributes were utilized to identify forward proxies and reverse proxy. If you're interested in the benefits in proxy server, you can read our guide on how you can configure Nginx as a web server as well as reverse proxy within Apache on the Ubuntu 20.04 server.



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