It is a proxy or proxy server, is a server software program which acts as an intermediary between clients and servers via the internet. With no intermediaries, a customer can send a request or resource to the server directly and the server would serve any requested resources directly to customer. While this procedure is easy to understand and apply using proxy servers, it could provide advantages in the form of higher performance as well as privacy, security and many more. As a pass-through layer the proxy functions as a security guardian of the internet between clients and servers.

Generally speaking, the bundled system of hardware for servers as well as software for proxy installation is usually referred to as proxy servers. In this article, we'll concentrate on proxies that are typically thought of as software, and the ones used together with web servers. This article will give a detailed breakdown of the two major types of proxies, a forward proxy and reverse proxy. reverse proxy. Each type has its own application scenario, which is often misunderstood due to the similar naming convention.

This article will provide you with an understanding of what proxy servers and their subtypes are, and also how they can be used in typical configurations. Through this article, you can identify the scenarios where an effective proxy can be useful, and select the right solution between forward and reverse proxy options for each scenario.

Understanding Forward Proxies

Also forward proxy, is also known as the open proxy is the client's representative who is trying to transmit requests via the internet to an origin server. In this case, all request to send it from the client will be made by the forward-proxy. In this scenario, an agent acting on behalf of the forward proxy in the place of the client will examine the request. It is the first thing to determine what authorization the user has to send requests to this particular forward proxy. It will then reject this request as well as send it back to the server that originally sent it. The client is not able to have direct connection to the internet. It can only reach what the forward proxy allows the client access.

One of the most popular uses for forward proxies is to provide greater privacy or security online. A forward proxy can be utilized to connect to the internet in lieu of a client, and in that process it may use a different IP address that is different from the IP address that was originally assigned to the client.

Depending on how they were configured in the past forward proxy servers may offer a range of services and permit you to:

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  Do not be a victim of ad tracking.
  
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  Circumvent surveillance.
  
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  You can determine limitations based on your geographic location.
  
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Forward proxies are also employed in security systems that require centralized and permission based access for instance, in a workplace. When all internet traffic goes through an open forward proxy layer, an administrator can restrict access to certain people to connect on the internet, which is blocked by a standard firewall. Instead of putting firewalls in place for the client layer, that could be comprised of a variety of machines that have different environments and users, a firewall can be placed on an front proxy layer.

Take note of the fact that forward proxies have to be manually configured for use, however reverse proxies will be ignored by the client. Based on whether an IP address from the customer is sent to the source server via the forward proxy, privacy and anonymity can be granted, or ignored.

There are a variety of options to consider for forward proxies:

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  Apache is an well-known open-source web server, which provides forward proxy functions.
  
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  Nginx: Another popular open-source web hosting server with forward proxy capabilities.
  
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  Squid is an open-source forward proxy that utilizes an HTTP protocol. This option doesn't include the entire web server. There is a video tutorial on how to configure Squid proxy so that it allows private connections to Ubuntu 20.04.
  
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  Dante Forward Proxy that utilizes the SOCKS protocol instead of HTTP and is more suited to cases like peer-to peer traffic. You can also look at how to create a Dante proxy for private connections in Ubuntu 20.04
  
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Understanding Reverse Proxies

Reverse proxy functions as an agent of a web server that handles incoming requests by clients on behalf of. This server can comprise a single server, or multiple servers. It may also act for application servers such as Gunicorn. In any of these scenarios, it is possible to get a request from a client through the internet in general. Most of the time it will be routed directly to the server that hosts the resources the client needs. Reverse proxy is an intermediary, separating Web servers and direct communication with the internet.

From a user's perspective, which is from a user's point of view, interfacing with reverse proxy isn't that different from connecting to your webserver directly. It's the same thing but clients can't tell the difference. The customer requests an item, and it is delivered without any additional configuration needed to be performed by the customer.

Reverse proxy proxies may offer options, such as:

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  A centralized layer of security to protect the server.
  
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  Controlling traffic inbound based on rules you can create.
  
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  A new feature for caching is now available.
  
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Central security is a benefit of both forward and reverse proxy solutions, reverse proxies provide this benefit to the web server layer, not clients. Instead of focusing on the maintenance of firewalls at the layer of web servers that may contain multiple servers that have different configurations, a majority of firewall security could be focused on the reverse proxy layer. In addition, the absence of interfacing with firewalls as well as interacting with the requests of clients from web servers allows them to focus solely on serving the needs of their customers.

If multiple servers are running through a reverse proxy the reverse proxy handles the way requests are routed to which server. There are many web servers offering the same content, but each serving different types of content or a mix of them. These servers may use the HTTP protocol similar to a traditional web server, however they may include applications server protocols such as FastCGI. You may also set up reverse proxy in order to redirect clients to specific servers depending on the service requested or to adhere to certain rules for traffic load.

Reverse proxies also can take advantage of their placement before web servers by providing the ability to cache data. Large static files may be managed using caching rules to prevent the server from getting hit with every request and some solutions even offer the possibility of providing static files without contacting the web server at all. Furthermore reverse proxy may manage the compression of these assets.

The well-known Nginx webserver is a wildly popular reverse proxy service. Although Apache is also a reverse proxy solution, the Apache web server is equipped with a reverse proxy feature as an added option for Apache in contrast to Nginx was originally designed and focused on reverse proxy functionality.

Differentiating Forward Proxy and reverse Proxy Use Examples

Because "forward" along with "reverse" are ascribed to an impression of directionality and false comparisons to "incoming" as well as "outgoing" traffic These labels can be confusing since each type of proxy handles requests and responses. Instead, a better way to distinguish between forward and reverse proxy is to take into account the needs of the application that you are developing.

Reverse proxy can be useful in designing a solution that can provide web-based applications on the internet. They represent your web servers throughout all interactions on the internet.

A forward proxy is helpful when placed on the internet in front of traffic from clients for your personal use or in a workplace environment. They represent the traffic of your clients when you use the internet.

The use case distinction instead of focusing on the similar naming conventions will assist in avoidance of confusion.

Conclusion

This article will explain the definition of a proxy, with the two primary kinds being reverse and forward proxy. Examples of practical applications as well as an examination of useful characteristics were used to establish forward proxies and reverse proxies. If you're interested to learn more about the process of implementing proxy services, you can refer to our tutorial on how to install Nginx as an internet server and reverse proxy using Apache running on one Ubuntu 20.04 server.

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