The term "proxy" refers to a proxy is also referred to as a proxy server software that acts in the role of a mediator a client and server over the internet. Without an intermediary the user would an inquiry directly to a server and the server would serve the requested resource directly at the request of the customer. Although this procedure is easy to comprehend and implement, adding proxies provides advantages like increased speed as well as security and privacy and a lot more. Apart from adding a layer of security they also act as a security guardian of the internet between users and servers.

Generally speaking, the packaged server hardware with installed proxy software is commonly referred to by the name proxy servers. However, this article will focus on proxies traditionally defined as software, and also in the context of web servers. This article will give a synopsis of the two main types: one being one that is a forward proxy and reverse proxy. reverse proxy. Each type has a different usage, which may be difficult due to the similar name-based convention.

This article will provide readers with the information on what proxy services and their subtypes, and the ways in which they can be beneficial in common configurations. In this article you'll be aware of the situations that you can gain by a proxy, and select the right solution between reverse and forward proxy in any situation.

Understanding Forward Proxies

Forward proxy also known in the context of being an open proxy is the representative of a customer who wishes to send requests via the internet to an the server that created it. In this case, it's the scenario that all requests made by the client will instead be forwarded directly into forward proxy. Forward proxy who is acting on behalf of the client, will examine into the request. At first, it will determine whether the client is allowed to send requests through this specific forward proxy. It will then either reject requests or redirect it to the original server. The client will not be capable of having direct access to the internet; it will only be able to access the data that forward-proxy permits it to connect to.

One popular reason to use forward proxy is the desire for greater privacy or security online. Forward proxy is able to access the internet as a client, and in this process, it uses another IP address in comparison to your client's IP address.

Based on the way it has been set up, and how it is configured forward proxy could provide a variety of functions in addition to the ability to:

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  Beware of ads-trackers.
  
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  Circumvent surveillance.
  
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  You can identify limitations based on your location.
  
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Forward proxies also are used in systems of centralized security and access that is dependent on permissions, such as, in a workplace. If all internet traffic flows via an open forward proxy an administrator can restrict access to only certain users to the internet via an common firewall. Instead of implementing firewalls on the client layer that can comprise multiple computers with various configurations and users, a firewall can be placed at the forward proxy layer.

Be aware that forward proxy servers must be manually configured to use the reverse proxy, while forward proxies may go unnoticed by the client. Depending on the type of IP address the client that is transferred to the server that originated it through forward proxy privacy and anonymity could be granted or left transparent.

There are many options to investigate for forward proxies:

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  Apache The Apache is a popular open-source web server, which offers forward proxy capabilities.
  
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  Nginx is another well-known open-source web server that has forward proxy capability.
  
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  Squid: A free and Open Source Forward Proxy that utilizes the HTTP protocol. It doesn't provide a complete Web server software. We have instructions for setting up Squid proxy to permit private connections on Ubuntu 20.04.
  
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  Dante Forward Proxy that uses the SOCKS protocol in place of HTTP and is more suitable for use cases such as with peer-to-peer traffic. You could also find out how to set up Dante proxy to support private connections on Ubuntu 20.04
  
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Understanding Reverse Proxies

Reverse proxy functions acting as an intermediary for the web server. It manages the incoming requests of clients in its place. The web server can serve as a single server or multiple servers. It could also be used as an app server, such as Gunicorn. In all of these scenarios it is possible to receive a request from a user who is on the internet generally. Most of the time the request will be sent directly to the web server which has all the information the user is would be looking for. A reverse proxy acts as an intermediary, protecting the webserver from direct interactions with the internet.

From the perspective of the user's point of view, the process of using reverse proxy is not any different than working with a web server directly. It's basically the same, but the client can't tell the distinction. Client makes the request to access resources, which is followed by receiving it, with no additional configuration needed by the client.

Reverse proxy proxies can provide features, like:

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  Security centralized for web servers.
  
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  The direction of traffic that is based on rules that you can establish.
  
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  The caching function was added to the application.
  
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While central security is an advantage of both forward and reverse proxy service, reverse proxies give this benefit to Web layer servers and not to the layer that clients use. Instead of maintaining firewalls at Web server layers, which can comprise multiple servers that have different configurations, most of firewall security is concentrated at the reverse proxy layer. Additionally, the absence of interfacing with a firewall and responding to requests from clients off of web servers enables them to focus on providing resources.

If there are multiple servers operating behind a reverse proxy, it also manages how requests are routed which server. There are many web servers offering the same service, each serving different kinds of resources or a combination of both. They may employ their HTTP protocol to serve as a web server in the traditional sense, but they can also incorporate application server protocols like FastCGI. You can set up reverse proxy servers to direct clients to certain servers according to the requested resource or to adhere to certain traffic load rules.

Reverse proxies can also benefit from their position in front of web servers through the capability of caching. The large static files can be set up with caching rules to ensure that they avoid having to contact web servers for every request. There are solutions that provide the option to directly serve static assets without needing to connect to a web server in any way. Additionally, the reverse proxy could handle the compression of these assets.

The well-known Nginx web server can be described as an effective reverse proxy solution. While you can use the Apache web server also includes reverse proxy capabilities as an additional function of Apache as opposed to Nginx was originally designed to and is focused on the reverse proxy function.

The distinction between Forward and Reverse Proxy Use. The difference between Forward Proxy and Reverse Proxy Use

Since "forward" and "reverse" have connotations that refer to directionality, as well as false comparisons to "incoming" as well as "outgoing" traffic, the labels can be confusing as both kinds of proxy services can handle requests as well as responses. A better approach to distinguish between forward and reverse proxy providers is to consider the needs of the application that you are developing.

A reverse proxy is useful in the development of solutions to run web applications on the internet. They act as your web server in any interactions with the internet.

Forward proxy applications are advantageous when used in front of the client for your personal use, or in the workplace. They represent the client's web traffic in any interaction on the internet.

Utilizing case-based differentiation instead of focusing on common naming conventions can aid in avoiding confusion.

Conclusion

In this article, we clarified the definition of a proxy, with the two primary types of them being the forward and the reverse proxy. Practical applications and a look at the beneficial traits were used to define forward proxies and reverse proxies. If you're interested to learn more about the implementation of proxy servers, look into our tutorial on how to configure Nginx in a reverse proxy and internet-based server for Apache on an Ubuntu 20.04 server.