An proxy is also known by the name of a proxy. It is software that acts to act as an intermediary for a client and server via the internet. If there was no proxy in place, the customer would send a request for every resource straight to server and servers would deliver any requested resources directly to the client. This is a simple method to comprehend and use the addition of proxy servers can offer advantages such as more performance, privacy, security, etc. In addition to providing a layer of protection proxy servers function as a security guard for the internet, separating clients from servers.

There is a general consensus that the hardware for servers, paired with proxy software is often known as proxy servers. This article will concentrate on proxies that are traditionally referred to as software, and specifically with respect with web server. This article will provide a brief overview of the two major types of proxy which are forward proxy and a reverse proxy. Each has its own use, and can be confusing because of the identical name convention.

This article will give you an idea of the types of proxies, their subtypes, and what they can do in common configurations. Through this article you'll know the scenarios where you can benefit by a proxy and decide on the appropriate alternative between reverse proxy or forward proxy for any scenario.

Understanding Forward Proxies

Forward proxy, also known as open proxy, sometimes referred to as open proxy acts as an agent for the user who wishes to transmit a request through the internet to an source server. In this instance, any request made by the client will rather be sent through an forward proxy. A forward proxy in the place of the client will review the request. It first will determine if the client is legally authorized to accept requests from this particular forward proxy. It will then either deny requests or send it back to source server. The client will not be capable of having direct access to the internet. it is only capable of accessing the information that the forward proxy gives the access.

The most common uses for forward proxies is to provide greater privacy or security on internet. A forward proxy accesses the internet in lieu of a specific client and can use another IP address as opposed to the IP address that is used by the user.

Depending on how it's set up, and how it's configured forward proxy could provide various features and allow you to:

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  Avoid tracking ads.
  
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  Circumvent surveillance.
  
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  Find restrictions based on the geolocation.
  
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Forward proxies can also be used in systems to offer central security as well as permission-based access, such as at a workplace. If all internet traffic flows through a common forward proxy layer administrators are able to restrict access to only certain clients to the internet, which is controlled by a standard firewall. Instead of putting firewalls on the client layer, which could comprise a variety of machines with various user configurations, firewalls may be placed the front proxy layer.

Be aware that forward proxies should be manually set up to be used, while reverse proxies can be disregarded from the clients. According to the type of IP address of the client, it is transmitted to the server that generated it via the forward proxy security and privacy can be granted or made clear.

There are many possibilities to consider for forward proxy:

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  Apache is a well-known open-source web server which provides forward proxy capabilities.
  
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  Nginx is another well-known open-source webserver, which comes with forward proxy capabilities.
  
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  Squid: An open source forward proxy that makes use of an HTTP protocol. The option does not include the entire web server. You can refer to our guide on how for installing Squid proxy to permit private connections on Ubuntu 20.04.
  
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  Dante is an forward proxy that utilizes the SOCKS protocol instead of HTTP which makes it appropriate for situations such as peer-to-peer communication. It is also possible to learn how to set up an Dante proxy for connection to private networks in Ubuntu 20.04
  
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Understanding Reverse Proxies

Reverse proxy is the web server that handles requests from customers on behalf of the server. The server could function as a single server or a number of servers. It could also contain an application server like Gunicorn. In any of these situations, a request would come through the internet at large. In most cases, the request is sent directly to the server along with all the information the client requires. Reverse proxy acts as an intermediary, separating your server from communications with the internet's public.

From the point of view from a client's perspective, using reverse proxy is not different from connecting to an internet server direct. It's basically the same, but clients aren't aware of the distinction. The client requests the resource, and receives it without any additional configuration needed on the part of the client.

Reverse proxies provide features such as:

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  A central layer of security to guard the server.
  
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  Directing incoming traffic using 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 a benefit of both forward and reverse proxy solutions, reverse proxy providers provide this benefit only to the server layer, only the layer that clients use. In lieu of maintaining firewalls at the server level that could contain multiple servers and different configurations, the bulk of firewall security can be focused at the reverse proxy layer. In addition, eliminating the responsibility of dealing with firewalls as well as interacting with requests from clients that are not on web servers allows them to focus on only the requirements of their customers.

In the event of multiple servers hosting through a reverse proxy, the reverse proxy also manages the routing of requests towards which servers. Multiple servers may be operating on the same server, serving different types of resources or a mixture of the two. They may use the HTTP protocol as a normal web server, but they can additionally include protocols for application servers like FastCGI. It is possible to set up reverse proxy that routes clients to specific servers according to the requested resource, or to adhere to certain guidelines for traffic load.

Reverse proxies can also benefit from their position before web servers, by providing caching capabilities. Large static assets can be set with caching rules that prevent reaching web servers every request. There are options that provide the possibility of serving static content directly without having to connect with the webserver at all. Additionally, reverse proxy can handle compressing these assets.

The well-known Nginx web server is a well-known reverse proxy choice. Although the Apache web server is able to use reverse proxy capabilities, it is an additional feature that is available to Apache However, Nginx was initially designed focus on reverse proxy functionality.

Distinguishing Forward Proxy from Reverse Proxy Use Examples

Since "forward" and "reverse" are associated with an impression of directionality and false comparisons with "incoming" and "outgoing" traffic could be confusing because both kinds of proxies handle requests and respond. Instead, a better way to distinguish between reverse and forward proxy servers would be to analyze the requirements of the application that you are building.

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

Forward proxy can be helpful in displaying customer information for your own use, or even in a workplace. They are a way to display the information of your client when you connect to the internet.

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

Conclusion

In this article, we clarified the definition of a proxy. There are two types of them being the forward and the reverse proxy. Practical applications and an examination of beneficial attributes were used to determine forward proxies as well as reverse proxy. If you're interested exploring the benefits of proxy servers, learn how to configure Nginx as an internet server as well as reverse proxy within Apache using Ubuntu 20.04 Server. Ubuntu 20.04 Server.

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