It's also known as a proxy or proxy server. It is a software program for servers which acts as an intermediary between server and a client on the internet. In the absence of an intermediary a user could make a request for any resource directly to the server, and the server will serve any requested resources directly to client. While this process is simple to understand and implement using proxy servers, it could provide advantages such as greater performance and privacy, security and many more. As a layer of pass-through, the proxy functions as a security guardian of the internet between the servers and clients.

In general, the system of hardware for servers and software for proxy installation is often referred by the name proxy servers. In this post, we'll concentrate on proxies that are typically thought of as software, as well as the ones used together with web servers. You will get a breakdown of the two main kinds of proxies: a forward proxy and a reverse proxy. reverse proxy. Each kind of proxy has its own specific use case, and is often misunderstood because of the similar naming convention.

This article will give you an understanding of what proxies and their subtypes are, and also how they can be used in common setups. Through this article, you will be able to identify the scenarios where an effective proxy could be beneficial, and choose the right solution between forward and reverse proxy for any particular circumstance.

Understanding Forward Proxies

In other words forward proxy, is also known as an open proxy is a representative of the client which is attempting to send an internet request to an origin server. In this scenario the entire attempt to send requests by the client will be sent by the forward-proxy. In this situation, the forward proxy acting in the in the place of the customer will review the request. First, it will determine which client has the authority to send requests to this particular forward proxy. It will then reject this request as well as forward it to the original server. The client isn't able to establish a direct connection to the internet. It can only reach what the forward proxy gives the client access.

A very popular applications for forward proxy servers is to provide greater privacy or security online. A forward proxy can be utilized to access the internet in lieu of a client, and could use an alternate IP address in place of the original IP address of the client.

Depending on how it's been established in the past, forward proxy servers can provide a variety of functions and let you:

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  Beware of ad-tracker.
  
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  Circumvent surveillance.
  
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  You can spot restrictions based upon your geolocation.
  
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Forward proxies can also be used for security systems that are centralized and have permission-based access, such as in a workplace. When all internet traffic goes through an open forward proxy layer, an administrator is able to restrict access to certain individuals to access the web. This is blocked by a standard firewall. Instead of having firewalls installed to protect the client layer which may comprise a variety of machines that have different environments and users, a firewall can be placed on the intermediate layer.

Take note of the fact that forward proxies require manual configuration for use, but reverse proxies are ignored to the user. Based on whether an IP address from a customer is passed to the original server via the forward proxy, privacy and anonymity can be granted, or left unnoticed.

There are many options to look into to find forward-looking proxy services:

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  Apache is a well-known open-source web server that provides forward proxy capabilities.
  
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  Nginx: Another popular open-source server used for web hosting with forward proxy capabilities.
  
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  Squid is an open source forward proxy that makes use of an HTTP protocol. It doesn't provide the entire web server. We have a tutorial on how to install Squid proxy to allow private connections in Ubuntu 20.04.
  
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  Dante Forward Proxy that utilizes the SOCKS protocol instead of HTTP, making it more suitable for situations like peer-to peer traffic. It is also possible to explore how you can create a Dante proxy for private connections on Ubuntu 20.04
  
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Understanding Reverse Proxies

Reverse proxy is an agent on behalf of a web server that handles incoming requests by clients on behalf of. The web server could comprise one server or multiple servers. It may also act in the role of an application server, such as Gunicorn. In any of these situations a request could come from a client through the internet in general. In the majority of cases, this request will go direct to the website hosting the resources the client requires. A reverse proxy is a intermediary, separating Web servers and direct interaction with the internet.

From a user's perspective, which is the user's perspective connecting to reverse proxy isn't any different than connecting directly to your webserver. It's the same thing, however clients can't discern the distinction. The customer requests an item, and it is delivered with no additional configurations that need to be completed by the customer.

Reverse proxy proxies may offer options, such as:

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  A central layer of security that guards the server.
  
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  Controlling traffic coming inbound according to rules you can establish.
  
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  A new feature to cache is now available.
  
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While central security is an advantage of both forward and reverse proxy solutions, reverse proxy providers provide this feature to the layer of the internet server and not to clients. Instead of focusing on the maintenance of firewalls on the web server layer that may contain multiple servers with various configurations, the bulk of firewall security is focused on the reverse proxy layer. In addition, the absence to interface with firewalls as well as responding to clients' requests through web servers enables them to concentrate on the needs of their customers.

If multiple servers are running through reverse proxy, the reverse proxy also takes care of the method of routing requests to which server. Many web servers may be providing the same content but each serving different types of content or a mixture of the two. These servers could use the HTTP protocol like a traditional web server, however they might also use applications server protocols such as FastCGI. It is also possible to set up reverse proxy in order to redirect the clients towards specific servers depending on the service requested or to follow certain guidelines for traffic load.

Reverse proxies also can take advantage of their placement before web servers by supplying caching functionality. Large static files may be managed using caching rules to prevent the web server from being hit on each request Certain solutions offer the option of providing static files without contacting the server in any way. Additionally reverse proxy may handle the compressing these assets.

The popular Nginx web server has become an extremely popular reverse proxy option. Although it is true that the Apache website server equipped with reverse proxy feature, it is an additional option. Apache as opposed to Nginx was initially designed for and specifically focused on reverse proxy capabilities.

Differentiating Forward Proxy and Reverse Proxy Use Examples

Because "forward" in addition to "reverse" are both associated with a sense of directionality, and false comparisons between "incoming" or "outgoing" traffic These labels can confuse because each type of proxy handles both responses and requests. A better approach to differentiate between reverse and forward proxy services is to consider the needs of the application you're creating.

Reverse proxy can be useful in designing solutions that provide web-based applications on the internet. They are your web servers in all interactions with the web.

A forward proxy can be helpful when it is placed in front of client traffic for your personal use or for work. They represent your client traffic every time you connect to the internet.

Differentiating by use case instead of focusing on the common naming conventions will help you in avoidance of confusion.

Conclusion

This article describes what a proxy is, with the two main types, namely the reverse and forward proxy. Practical application scenarios as well as an examination of useful characteristics were used to establish forward proxies and reverse proxy. If you're interested in knowing more about the process of implementing proxy servers, check out our guide on how to set up Nginx as a reverse and web server proxy on Apache using one Ubuntu 20.04 server.

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