A proxy, also known as a proxy is also known by the name of a proxy. It is a program that acts in the role of intermediaries between a client and server over the internet. If there was no proxy in place, the client would be able to send a request to anything directly to the server and servers would serve any requested resources directly to the client. This is a simple method to understand and use, however the addition of proxy servers can offer advantages like increased performance, privacy, security, and so on. As an additional layer of pass-through proxy servers function as a gatekeeper for the internet between clients and servers.




The general consensus is that the hardware for servers, paired with proxy software is often called proxy servers. But, this article will focus on proxy servers that are typically categorized as software, and specifically in relation to servers on the internet. This article will provide a brief overview of the two major types of proxies that are a forward proxy and a reverse proxy. Each kind has a distinct use, which could be confusing because of the identical namestamp.




This article will give you an understanding of what proxies and their subtypes, and their value for common setups. By reading this article, you'll be able to recognize the situations where you can benefit from a proxy, and make the right alternative between reverse proxy or forward proxy depending on the circumstance.



Understanding Forward Proxies



Forward proxy sometimes called the open proxy is a proxy for the user who wishes to make a request over the internet to an source server. In this case every request made by the client will rather be handled by an forward proxy. A forward proxy in the position of the customer will examine the request. It first decides if the client is allowed to accept requests via this specific forward proxy. It will then either refuse any request, or redirect it to the server that originated it. The client is not allowed directly access to internet. it will only be able to access the information that the forward proxy gives its access.




The most common uses for forward proxies is increased privacy or security on internet. Forward proxy connects to the internet in lieu of a specific client and may use a different IP address in comparison to the original IP address used by the client.




Depending on how it's been set up, and how it is configured, forward proxy may offer a range of features that allow you to:




Avoid tracking ads.


Circumvent surveillance.


Determine restrictions based on geolocation.




Forward proxies are also employed in systems that provide central security as well as permission-based access, such as in a workplace. In the event that all internet traffic passes through an open forward proxy layer, an administrator is able to restrict access to only certain clients to the internet. The web is filtered by an common firewall. Instead of putting firewalls on the client layer, which could involve many machines with varying user configurations, firewalls could be placed on the proxy layer that is in front.




Remember that forward proxies must be manually configured for use while reverse proxies could be disregarded in the eyes of the user. According to the kind of IP address a client is sent to the server that generated it by the forward proxy privacy and security can be granted or made transparent.




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




Apache is a well-known open source web server that provides forward proxy capabilities.


Nginx is another popular open-source webserver which has forward proxy capability.


Squid is an open source forward proxy that makes use of an HTTP protocol. This option doesn't include the whole web server. You can refer to our article about how to install Squid proxy to allow private connections on Ubuntu 20.04.


Dante is a forward proxy which uses the SOCKS protocol instead of HTTP this makes it suitable for scenarios like peer-to-peer traffic. You can also check out how to configure the Dante proxy to allow connection to private networks in Ubuntu 20.04



Understanding Reverse Proxies



Reverse proxy is a web server, which handles the requests of customers on behalf of the server. This server can serve as a single server or as a series of servers. Additionally, it can contain an application server like Gunicorn. In any of these instances, a request would come via the web at large. In the majority of cases the request is made directly to the web server along with all the information the client requires. A reverse proxy serves as an intermediary and separates your website server from communicating with the web's public.




From a consumer's point of viewpoint from the perspective of a client reverse proxy use is not any different than connecting directly to an internet server. It's functionally identical, however the client isn't able to discern the difference. The client makes a request for the resource, and it receives it, with no additional configuration required by the client.




Reverse proxy providers offer features such as:




A centralized layer of security to protect the server.


Directing incoming traffic based on rules that you set up.


A new feature to cache has been added.




Central security is a benefit of both reverse and forward proxy service, reverse proxies provide this feature only to only the server layer, not the client layer. instead of maintaining firewalls at the server layer which could include multiple servers and various configurations, the majority of firewall security can be concentrated on the reverse proxy layer. Additionally, removing the burden of communicating with firewalls and interacting with requests from clients outside of web servers allows them to focus solely on meeting the requirements of their customers.




In the event of multiple servers hosting through a reverse proxy the reverse proxy handles the routing of requests towards the server that is hosting them. Multiple web servers could be operating on the same server, serving different kinds of resources or a mixture of the two. They may utilize their HTTP protocol to function as a normal web server, however they can additionally include protocols for application servers like FastCGI. You can set up a reverse proxy to route clients to particular servers according to the requested service, or observe certain guidelines for traffic load.




Reverse proxies can also utilize their positioning before web servers by providing caching capabilities. Large static assets can be managed using caching rules to prevent from reaching web servers with each time a request is made. There are solutions that offer the possibility of serving static content directly without having to interact with the webserver at all. Furthermore, reverse proxy can help compress these assets.




The well-known Nginx web server is a well-known reverse proxy choice. Although it is true that the Apache web server has reverse proxy capabilities, it is an added feature for Apache but Nginx was originally designed to and focuses on the reverse proxy feature.



Differentiating Forward Proxy and Reverse Proxy Examples



Because "forward" and "reverse" are both associated with an impression of directionality and inaccurate comparisons to "incoming" as well as "outgoing" traffic and could be confusing because both kinds of proxy servers process requests and responses. A better approach to distinguish between reverse and forward proxy servers is to analyze the requirements of the app that you are building.




Reverse proxy is a crucial aspect in the design of a method to run websites on the internet. They function as your servers when you interact with the Internet.




Forward proxy can be useful to display customers' information for your own use, or in a work environment. The forward proxy is a representation of the information of the customer when you connect to the internet.




A distinction based on use case instead of focusing solely on similar naming conventions will help avoid confusion.



Conclusion



This article clarified the meaning of a proxy. There are two types, the reverse and forward proxy. Practical applications and an examination of beneficial attributes were used to identify forward proxies and reverse proxy. If you're interested exploring the role for proxy servers learn how to set up Nginx as web server as well as reverse proxy on Apache on the Ubuntu 20.04 server.



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