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It is an proxy is also referred to as a proxy server is software that sits acting as an intermediary between a client and server on internet. Without a proxy, a client could send a request for the resource directly to a server, and it would serve that resource to its user directly. This is a simple method to grasp and implement, the addition of proxies can provide benefits in terms of better performance and privacy, security and much more. As an additional layer of being able to pass through, a proxy acts as a guardian for the internet between clients and servers.




There is a general consensus it is the case that the mix of servers hardware with installed proxy software is frequently called proxy servers. In this article, we will focus on proxies typically described as software, as well as those utilized together with web servers. This article will present the full description of two kinds of proxies such as the forward proxy and a reverse proxy. Each comes with its own specific use case, often confused because of the similar namesake convention.




This article will give you some knowledge about what proxies are and what their subtypes, and the ways they can be useful in common configurations. Through this article you'll be able discern the scenarios in which a proxy is advantageous, and choose the appropriate choice for forward proxy or reverse proxy for a particular scenario.



Understanding Forward Proxies



The forward proxy sometimes known by the name of an open proxy is a representative of a user who attempts to transmit a request through the internet to an origin server. In this scenario, it's the scenario that all requests made by the client will be sent to the forward proxy. In this scenario, the forward proxy instead of the client, will examine the request. It will first will decide whether the client is permitted to forward requests through this particular forward proxy. It will then decide whether to refuse this request and transfer it over to the original server. It's not able to directly connect with the web. It can only access what the forward proxy permits it access to.




The most common use for forward proxy is to achieve greater privacy or security online. A forward proxy uses the internet as an individual client, and during this manner, it may use another IP address in comparison to the original IP address of the client.




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




Avoid tracking ads.


Circumvent surveillance.


Find restrictions based on your location of residence.




Forward proxies are also employed in systems to provide central security and permission based access, like in a workplace. If all internet traffic passes via an open forward proxy,, the administrator can grant only a few clients online access which is then filtered by a standard firewall. Instead of ensuring firewalls are in place at the level of client that may include multiple machines that are different in terms of user and environment the firewall could be installed at the layer which forwards proxy traffic.




Be aware that forward proxies need to be manually setup to use, whereas reverse proxies are often disregarded by clients. Depending on whether an IP address is transmitted to the origin server through the forward proxy, privacy and anonymity may get granted, or even made clear.




There are many options to be considered for forward proxies:




Apache An open source, well-known web server that provides forward proxy features.


Nginx: Another renowned open-source web server with forward proxy functionality.


Squid is an open source forward proxy that uses an HTTP protocol. It does not include an entire web server service. Take a look at our article on the best way to setup Squid proxy to allow connection with private networks in Ubuntu 20.04.


Dante forward proxy which makes use of the SOCKS protocol instead HTTP, making it more suitable for scenarios like peer-to-peer communication. It's also a good idea to check out how to configure a Dante proxy to allow private connections in Ubuntu 20.04



Understanding Reverse Proxies



Reverse proxy acts as a representative of a web server which handles requests from customers on behalf of. The web server may represent a single or several servers. Additionally, it could serve as an app server like Gunicorn. For any one of these situations a request could come in via a user on the web at large. In most cases the request will be delivered directly to the web server along with the data the user wants. Reverse proxy, however, is a intermediary, and blocks your server from interactions with the internet.




From a client's perspective from a user's point of view, using a reverse proxy is no different from communicating with the webserver in direct communication. It's basically the same and the client is unable to tell the difference. The client requests a resource which is followed by receiving it, with no additional configuration needed for the user.




Reverse proxy proxies may offer features, like:




Centrally secured for Web Server Layer.


Sending traffic to be directed in accordance with rules you can establish.


Additional features to cache data.




Although central security is an advantage of both forward and reverse proxy service, reverse proxy provides this benefit to only the server layer and not to the client layer. Instead of the need to maintain firewalls at the layer of web servers which can contain several servers that have different configurations, the bulk of firewall security is centered in the reverse proxy layer. In addition, the removal of the requirement of interacting with firewalls and responding to requests from clients that are not connected to web servers allows the firewall to concentrate on serving the needs of their clients.




If there are several servers in a reverse proxy, the reverse proxy is also in charge of the way requests are handled to the server. Multiple web servers may be operating on the same server, providing various kinds of resources or a combination of both. These servers can use the HTTP protocol to function as a standard web server. They can include applications server protocols such as FastCGI. You can create reverse proxy that directs users to specific servers based on the kind of resource they are looking for, or to comply with certain rules regarding traffic load.




Reverse proxies also profit from their positioning before web servers by delivering the capacity of caching. Large static assets can be set up using caching guidelines to avoid hitting web servers on each request, with certain solutions giving the option to directly serve static resources without connecting with the server for even one time. Furthermore, reverse proxy could be able to handle compression of these assets.




The well-known Nginx web server is an acknowledged reverse proxy service. Although the Apache web server is also equipped with reverse proxy feature, it's a separate feature available only for Apache however Nginx was originally designed and was designed to perform the reverse proxy function.



Differentiating Forward and Reverse Proxy Use Differentiating Forward Proxy and Reverse Use



Because "forward" as well as "reverse" have connotations of directionality, as well as false distinctions between "incoming" in addition to "outgoing" traffic These terms can be confusing since both kinds of proxies are able to handle requests as well as responses. The best way to differentiate between reverse and forward proxy is to look at the requirements of the app that you are creating.




A reverse proxy could be helpful in the development of a solution to provide web-based services over the internet. They serve as your servers during any interaction with the internet.




Forward proxy are helpful when you are in front of the client for your personal use or in the workplace. They represent your client traffic when you are on the internet.




A distinction based on use case rather than focusing only upon similar conventions for naming can aid in avoiding confusion.



Conclusion



This article provides the definition of a proxy that includes two major types of proxy: the forward one and reverse proxy. Practical scenarios for application and a review of the useful features were utilized to distinguish forward proxies and reverse proxies. If you're interested in learning more about the possibilities of proxy services, then you can check out our tutorial on how you can set up Nginx as a reverse and web server proxy on Apache on one Ubuntu 20.04 server.



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