It is a proxy is also referred to as proxy server software that acts in the middle between client and server over the internet. Without a proxy, a client will send a request for the resource directly to a server and it would serve the requested resource directly to the user. While this approach is straightforward to understand and implement but the addition of proxies can provide benefits in terms of more performance as well as privacy, security and much more. As an additional layer of being able to pass over, the proxy serves as a gatekeeper for the internet between clients and servers.




The majority of people agree this: the mix of hardware for servers and the software that is installed to make proxy connections is commonly referred too as proxy servers. For this post, we'll examine proxies commonly described in terms of software as well as those that are used together with web servers. This article will provide the full description of two kinds of proxies which are the forward proxy and a reverse proxy. Each comes with its own specific use case, often confused because of the identical namesake convention.




This article will provide an understanding of what proxies are and what subtypes they have, and what ways in which they can be beneficial in common configurations. Through this article, you'll be able to identify the circumstances that a proxy could be useful, and then decide the most appropriate forward proxy or reverse proxy for any particular situation.



Understanding Forward Proxies



The forward proxy sometimes known by the name of the open proxy is the agent of a client who is trying to send requests via the internet to an the server that originated it. In this scenario, it's the situation that all requests coming from the client will be directed via through the forward proxy. In this case, the forward proxy instead of the client will scrutinize the request. It will first decides if the client is permitted to send requests via this particular forward proxy. It will then decide whether to deny the request or send it back to its source server. It's not able to connect directly to the internet. It only has access to what forward proxy permits it access to.




A common reason for using forward proxy is to achieve greater privacy or security online. A forward proxy uses the internet as a personal client, and during this process, it can make use of a different IP address contrast to the IP address that is used by the client.




Depending on how they were set up in the past forward proxy servers could give you a variety of options. They allow you to:




Beware of ads that track you.


Circumvent surveillance.


Determine restrictions based on place of residence.




Forward proxies can also be used in systems that provide central security and permit-based access, like at work. If all internet traffic passes by an open forward proxy, the administrator can grant only a small number of clients access to the internet which is filtered by a standard firewall. Instead of ensuring firewalls are in place for the client layer that could include multiple computers that are different in terms of user and environment the firewall could be installed at the layer that is responsible for forwarding proxy data.




Remember that forward proxies have to be set up manually prior to be used, while reverse proxies are often disregarded by clients. Based on the fact that the IP address of the client is sent to the origin server through the forward proxy, privacy and anonymity can be granted or made clear.




There are many possibilities to consider in the case of forward proxies:




Apache An open-source, well-known web server that provides forward proxy capabilities.


Nginx A renowned open-source webserver with forward proxy functionality.


Squid is an open-source forward proxy which makes use of it's HTTP protocol. It does not include an entire web server. Check out our article on the best method to set up Squid proxy for private connections in Ubuntu 20.04.


Dante forward proxy that makes use of the SOCKS protocol rather than HTTP which makes it more suitable for use scenarios like peer-to -peer traffic. You might also want to check out how to configure a Dante proxy for private connections within Ubuntu 20.04



Understanding Reverse Proxies



Reverse proxy is a representative of a web server which manages requests by customers on its behalf. The web server could represent a single or several servers. It could also be an application server like Gunicorn. In any of these scenarios, a request could come in from a client through the internet in general. In most cases the request is directed directly to the web server, along with the information the user wants. Reverse proxy, however, acts as an intermediary, and blocks your website server from any interaction with the internet.




From a user's point of view from a user's point of view, using a reverse proxy is no different than communicating with the webserver in direct communication. It's basically the same, and the client cannot discern the difference. Client requests a resource, which is followed by receiving it, without any additional configuration needed for the end user.




Reverse proxy proxies are able to provide features, like:




Centrally secured for Web Server Layer.


The sending of traffic according to rules that you can set up.


Additional functions to cache data.




Although central security can be a benefit of both reverse and forward proxy services, reverse proxies give this benefit to only the server layer, not to the client layer. Instead of maintaining firewalls on the web server layer that may contain multiple servers with different configurations, the bulk of firewall security resides on the reverse proxy layer. Furthermore, removing the obligation of interacting with firewalls and connecting with requests from clients that are not connected to web servers allows firewalls to focus on meeting the needs of their customers.




If there are multiple servers connected to a reverse proxy the reverse proxy is also in charge of the way requests are handled to the server. There could be multiple web servers operating within the same system, serving different kinds of resources or a combination of both. These servers can use the HTTP protocol in the same way as a traditional web server. They may also include applications server protocols like FastCGI. It is possible to set up reverse proxy servers to send customers to specific servers based on the kind of resource they're seeking, or to follow certain rules to manage traffic load.




Reverse proxies can also benefit by their position prior to web servers, by providing the ability to cache. Large static assets can be set up using caching rules to prevent having to connect to web servers with each request, with certain services giving the option to serve static files directly without connecting with the server for even one time. Furthermore reverse proxy is able to be able to handle compression of these assets.




The famous Nginx web server is also known as a reverse proxy service. Although it, Apache web server is also equipped with reverse proxy feature it's a distinct feature available only for Apache while Nginx was initially developed for and focused on the reverse proxy function.



Differentiating Forward and reverse proxy Utilizing Differentiation of Forward Proxy and Reverse Use



Since "forward" as well as "reverse" are associated with the notion of directionality and false distinctions between "incoming" in addition to "outgoing" traffic These labels are confusing because both kinds of proxies are able to manage requests and responses. A better approach to distinguish between reverse and forward proxy services is to study the requirements of the application you're developing.




Reverse proxy is helpful in the development of a solution to provide web-based applications on the internet. They serve as your servers when you interact with the internet.




Forward proxy is beneficial when they are used in front of the client for personal use, or in a workplace setting. They can be used to represent the traffic of your clients when you interact with the internet.




A distinction that is based on the use cases instead of focusing exclusively on similar naming conventions will help you avoid confusion.



Conclusion



This article clarifies the meaning of a proxy, which includes two main kinds that are forward proxy and the reverse proxy. Practical scenarios for application and a look at advantageous features were used to distinguish between forward proxy and reverse proxies. If you're interested in learning more about the possibilities of proxies, then you can check out our tutorial on how you can configure Nginx as a reverse and webserver proxy using Apache on one Ubuntu 20.04 server.



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