A proxy, also known as a proxy is also referred to as a proxy server. It is a program that acts as an intermediary between a client and server via the internet. Without the proxy, a customer could send a request for anything directly to the server, and servers would provide direct to users who requested the resource. Although this method is easy to understand and use, however using proxy servers can offer advantages like increased performance, privacy and security, etc. As an additional layer of pass-through proxy servers act as a guardian for the internet between clients and servers.

The consensus is that the system of servers that are equipped with proxy software is also often referred as proxy servers. But, this article will focus on proxies traditionally defined as software, and more specifically in relation to web servers. We will present a summary of the two main kinds of proxy which are forward proxy and reverse proxy. reverse proxy. Each kind has a distinct usage, which can be confusing because of the same namestamp.

This article will provide you with an idea of the types of proxies, their subtypes, and what they can do in common configurations. After reading this article you'll be able know the scenarios where you can benefit from a proxy and determine the best alternative between reverse proxy or forward proxy for any scenario.

Understanding Forward Proxies

Forward proxy, also known as the open proxy serves as an agent for users who wish to send a request via the internet to a source server. In this scenario, every attempt to send requests made by the client will be handled by the forward proxy. A forward proxy acting in place of the client will review the request. It first decides if the client is allowed to accept requests via this particular forward proxy. It will then either refuse the request or forward it to the server from which it originated. The client is not capable of having direct access to the internet. it is only able to access the information that forward proxy grants the access.

A very popular reasons for forward proxy is to provide greater privacy or security on the internet. A forward proxy accesses the internet instead of an individual client, and in the process, it can use another IP address, in contrast to the IP address that is used by the client.

Depending on how it's configured, based on the way it's set up forward proxy could provide many features that allow you to:

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  Avoid tracking ads.
  
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  Circumvent surveillance.
  
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  Establish restrictions based upon location.
  
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Forward proxies are also employed in systems that provide central security and permission based access to the internet, for instance at a workplace. If all internet traffic flows through a common forward proxy layer an administrator is able to restrict access to only certain clients to the internet. This is blocked by a common firewall. Instead of putting firewalls on the client layer, which could involve many machines with varying user configurations, firewalls can be placed at an intermediary layer.

Keep in mind that forward proxy servers must be set up manually for use, while reverse proxy servers could be ignored from the clients. According to the type of IP address of the client's connection to the server that generated it through the forward proxy, privacy and security may be granted or made transparent.

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

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  Apache is a well-known open source web server that provides forward proxy capability.
  
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  Nginx is another well-known open-source webserver, which comes with forward proxy capability.
  
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  Squid: An open source forward proxy that utilizes the HTTP protocol. This option doesn't include the entire web server. It is possible to refer to our guide on the best way to install Squid proxy to enable private connections on Ubuntu 20.04.
  
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  Dante is a forward proxy that uses the SOCKS protocol instead of HTTP this allows it to be more appropriate for situations such as peer-to-peer communication. You can also check out how to configure the Dante proxy to allow connection to private networks in Ubuntu 20.04
  
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Understanding Reverse Proxies

Reverse proxy acts as the web server that handles the requests of customers on its behalf. It can be used as a single server or a number of servers. It could also include an application servers, like Gunicorn. In any of these situations the request will be made through the internet at large. In the majority of cases, the request is sent directly to the web server, along with the resources the client requires. A reverse proxy serves as an intermediary, segregating your server from communications with the internet's public.

From the point of viewpoint from the perspective of a client, using reverse proxy is not different from connecting directly to an internet server. It's functionally identical, however the client can't discern the distinction. The client requests the resource, and receives it, with no additional configuration needed by the client.

Reverse proxies offer various features, including:

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  A centralized layer of security to protect the server.
  
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  Controlling traffic inbound based on rules that you set up.
  
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  A new feature to cache has been added.
  
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Although central security is an advantage of both forward and reverse proxy service, reverse proxies provide this feature only to only the server layer and only the layer that clients use. instead of the maintenance of firewalls at the server level which could include multiple servers and different configurations, the majority of firewall security could be concentrated on the reverse proxy layer. In addition, eliminating the burden of interacting with firewalls and interacting with requests from clients that are not on web servers permits them to focus on only the needs of their customers.

In the case of multiple servers being hosted through reverse proxy the reverse proxy manages the routing of requests to the server that is hosting them. Multiple web servers could be providing the exact same service, serving different kinds of resources or a mixture of the two. They can utilize an 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 servers to direct clients to specific servers based on the requested service, or adhere to specific rules regarding traffic volume.

Reverse proxies can also utilize their positioning before web servers, by providing caching capabilities. Large static files can be set with caching rules that prevent getting to web servers for every time you request. There are solutions that offer the option of serving static content directly without having to connect with a webserver. Furthermore, reverse proxy can manage compressing these files.

The renowned Nginx webserver is known as a wildly popular reverse proxy option. While it is true that the Apache web server does have the ability to reverse proxy as an added feature for Apache however Nginx was initially designed focus on the reverse proxy feature.

Differentiating Forward Proxy and Reverse Proxy Use Examples

Since "forward" as well as "reverse" are both associated with an impression of directionality and inaccurate comparisons to "incoming" or "outgoing" traffic and can confuse because both types of proxy servers process requests and respond. Instead, a better way to distinguish between forward and reverse proxy servers would be to look at the requirements of the application you're creating.

Reverse proxy is a crucial feature in the development of a method to run websites on the internet. They function as your servers during any interaction through the Internet.

Forward proxy is useful for displaying customers to your personal 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 naming conventions that are similar will help avoid confusion.

Conclusion

In this article, we clarified the meaning of a proxy with two types of them being the forward and the reverse proxy. Practical applications as well as an exploration of the beneficial attributes were utilized to determine forward proxies as well as reverse proxy. If you're interested in exploring the benefits for proxy servers read our guide on how to configure Nginx as an internet server and reverse proxy within Apache in an Ubuntu 20.04 Server.

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