A proxy, also known as a proxy can also be referred to by the name of a proxy. It is software that functions to act as an intermediary for a client and server on the internet. If there was no proxy in place, the customer would be able to send a request to every resource straight to server and servers would provide the requested resource directly to the user. This is a simple method to grasp and use however using proxy servers may provide benefits like increased performance, privacy and security, etc. In addition to providing a layer of pass-through, proxies act as a gatekeeper for the internet between servers and clients.

There is a general consensus that the servers that are equipped with proxy software is commonly referred as proxy servers. However, this article will concentrate on proxy servers that are typically categorized as software, specifically in relation to servers on the internet. We will give a synopsis of the two major types of proxy services that are a forward proxy and a reverse proxy. Each kind has a distinct usage, which can be confusing because of the same name convention.

This article will give you an idea of what proxies and their subtypes, and what they can do for the most common setups. After reading this article, you'll be able to recognize the situations where you can benefit from a proxy, and decide on the appropriate option between reverse proxy and forward proxy in any given circumstance.

Understanding Forward Proxies

Forward proxy, also known as an open proxy acts as an agent for the user who wishes to send a request via the internet to an source server. In this scenario, every request made by the client will rather be sent through this forward proxy. A forward proxy that is in position of the customer will review the request. It first will determine if the client is allowed to accept requests via this specific forward proxy. Then, it will either deny the request or forward it to the source server. The client is not allowed direct access to the internet. it will only be allowed access to the information that the forward proxy gives it access to.

The most frequent applications for forward proxy servers is to provide greater privacy or security on internet. A forward proxy is able to access the internet instead of a client's individual account, and may use a different IP address in comparison to the IP address used by the user.

Based on the way it's configured, based on the way it's set up forward proxy can provide many options and let you:

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  Beware of tracking ads.
  
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  Circumvent surveillance.
  
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  Establish restrictions based upon your location.
  
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Forward proxies can also be used in systems to provide central security and permission based access, like at a workplace. If all internet traffic flows through an open forward proxy layer, administrator can allow only specific clients access to the internet. This is filtered by an common firewall. Instead of keeping firewalls in place for the client layer that could comprise a variety of machines with various settings and types of users, the firewall may be placed the proxy layer that is in front.

Be aware that forward proxies should be manually set up to be used, while reverse proxies can be not recognized by the client. Depending on the kind of IP address the client, it is transmitted to the server which originated it by the forward proxy privacy and security can either be provided or rendered 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 offers forward proxy capabilities.
  
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  Nginx is a popular open-source webserver, which comes with forward proxy capability.
  
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  Squid: An open source forward proxy that makes use of an HTTP protocol. This option doesn't include the entire web server. You can refer to our article on the best way for installing Squid proxy to allow private connections on Ubuntu 20.04.
  
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  Dante is a forward proxy that uses the SOCKS protocol instead of HTTP which allows it to be more appropriate for situations such as peer-to-peer connections. You can also learn how to setup an 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, which takes care of requests from customers on behalf of the server. It can be used as a single server or as a series of servers. It could also contain an application server such as Gunicorn. In all of these scenarios, a request would come through the internet at large. In the majority of cases the request will be sent directly to the server with all the resources the client requires. A reverse proxy functions as an intermediary, separating your server from communications with the internet's public.

From a consumer's point of view from a client's perspective reverse proxy isn't different from connecting to an internet server direct. It's functionally the same but clients aren't aware of the distinction. The client makes a request for the resource and then gets it, with no additional configuration needed by the client.

Reverse proxies offer options like:

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  A centralized layer of security that protects the server.
  
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  Directing incoming traffic according to rules you set up.
  
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  A new feature to cache is now available.
  
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While central security is a benefit of both reverse and forward proxy services, reverse proxies give this benefit only to the server layer and not the client layer. instead of maintaining firewalls on the server level that could contain multiple servers and various configurations, the majority of firewall security can be concentrated on the reverse proxy layer. Furthermore, taking the burden of communicating with firewalls as well as interacting with requests from clients outside of web servers lets them focus on only the needs of their customers.

If there are multiple servers hosting through a reverse proxy the reverse proxy is responsible for routing requests towards which servers. There could be multiple web servers operating on the same server, or serving various kinds of resources, or a mix of both. They may use their HTTP protocol to function as a standard web server, however they can additionally include application server protocols such as FastCGI. You can set up reverse proxy servers to direct clients to specific servers according to the requested resource, or to observe certain guidelines for traffic volume.

Reverse proxies can also make use of their positioning before web servers by providing the ability to cache. Large static assets can be managed with caching rules that prevent from reaching web servers with every time you request. There are options that provide the option of serving static content directly, without having to connect with the webserver at all. Furthermore, reverse proxy can manage compressing these files.

The well-known Nginx web server is a well-known reverse proxy choice. It is true that it is true that the Apache web server has reverse proxy capabilities, it is an added feature for Apache However, Nginx was designed originally to focus on reverse proxy functionality.

Distinguishing Forward Proxy from Reverse Proxy Use Examples

Because "forward" and "reverse" are both associated with a sense of directionality and inaccurate comparisons to "incoming" as well as "outgoing" traffic can confuse because both types of proxy servers process requests and response. A better approach to differentiate between reverse and forward proxy servers would be to analyze the requirements of the app that you are building.

Reverse proxy is an important element in the creation of a solution to serve web-based applications via the internet. They serve as servers when you interact with the Internet.

Forward proxy can be useful in displaying customer information to your personal use or even in a workplace. They are a way to display the information of your client whenever you interact on the internet.

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

Conclusion

The article clarified definition of a proxy, with two kinds of proxy being the reverse and forward proxy. Practical applications and an exploration of beneficial attributes were used to distinguish forward proxies from reverse proxy. If you're interested exploring the use in proxy server, you can follow our tutorial on how to set up Nginx as a web service and reverse proxy within Apache in the Ubuntu 20.04 server.

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