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An proxy, also known as a proxy server also referred to the proxy server, is software which serves as an intermediary between a client and server on the internet. Without the use of a proxy, clients will send a request directly to a server, and it will serve direct to users who requested the resource. While this procedure is easy to comprehend and implement using proxies, it can provide benefits in the form of enhanced performance, privacy, security, and many more. In addition to providing a layer of protection proxy, it acts as a guardian for the internet, separating servers and users.




In general, the bundle of server hardware with installed proxy software is often known as a proxy server. In this article, we will concentrate on proxy servers which are usually described as software, and also within the context of web servers. You will get a breakdown of the two main types of proxies: the forward proxy and a reverse proxy. Each kind has its own application, and is frequently confused due to a similar the name convention.




This article will give you an idea of the different types of proxy and what their subtypes are, as well as their significance in the common configurations. Through this post, you'll be able to understand how to recognize the situations that a good proxy is beneficial and select the best alternative between forward and reverse proxy, based on the circumstances.



Understanding Forward Proxies



A forward proxy, also called an open proxy acts as an intermediary for the client who is trying to transmit a request over the internet to an source server. In this case every request sent by the client will be routed directly through the forward proxy. A forward proxy, acting in the client's stead, will review the request. It will first determine if the client is allowed be able to accept requests through this specific forward proxy. Then, it will deny any request, or send it to the server that originally received it. The client is not able to have directly access to internet. It has access to only the web pages that forward proxy grants the client access.




A very common uses for forward proxies is to increase privacy or security while using the internet. Forward proxy makes use of the internet as a client, and in that process, it uses an alternate IP address in addition to the original IP address of the client.




Based on the way it is configured based on how it is configured forward proxy can provide various features based upon the configuration that allow users to:




Avoid tracking ads.


Circumvent surveillance.


You can determine restrictions based upon your geographical place of residence.




Forward proxies are also utilized in systems that provide central security and access based on permissions, such as in an office. The entire internet can be passed through a forward proxy that is open, an administrator is able to restrict access to certain users to the internet, which is protected by an common firewall. As opposed to having firewalls on the client layer, which may include multiple computers that have different configurations and users it is possible to set up a firewall located at the forward proxy layer.




Be aware that forward proxy settings should be manually set up to use however reverse proxies will be not considered in the eyes of the user. Based on the fact that the IP address of the user is passed to the server where it came from by the forward proxy, privacy and anonymity can be granted or kept secret.




There are a myriad of alternatives to think about when it comes to forward proxy:




Apache is an well-known open-source web server, which provides forward proxy functions.


Nginx: Another widely used open-source server for web hosting with forward proxy capabilities.


Squid: An open-source forward proxy which uses an HTTP protocol. It's not the whole web server. Read our guide on how you can install Squid proxy to connect privately on Ubuntu 20.04.


Dante is an forward proxy which uses the SOCKS protocol instead of HTTP to make it better suited for cases like peer-to-peer traffic. It is also possible to examine how you can set up Dante proxy for secure connections within Ubuntu 20.04



Understanding Reverse Proxies



A reverse proxy is the web server which handles the incoming requests of customers on behalf of. The web server may represent a single, or a number of servers. It may additionally be an app server, such as Gunicorn. In all of these scenarios, the request for an application is received from a user via the internet. In most cases the request will be directed directly to a web server along with the information that the user is seeking. A reverse proxy acts as an intermediary and isolates your website server from communication with the open internet.




From the viewpoint of the individual client's point of view, the process of using reverse proxy is similar to connecting to a Web server through direct communication. It's exactly the same, and the client cannot tell the difference. The client makes a request for a resource, which is followed by receiving it, without any additional configuration needed for the end-user.




Reverse proxies provide features such as:




A central layer of security that protects the server.


The direction of traffic coming in is based on the rules you determine.


New caching functionality has been added.




Although centralized security is a benefit of both reverse and forward proxy, reverse proxies do this for only the server layer but not to the client layer. instead of being focused on maintenance of firewalls at the web server layer which may contain many servers and different configurations, the majority of the firewall security is targeted towards the reverse proxy layer. Furthermore, the elimination of the responsibility of interfacing with firewalls as well as communicating with clients who are far from web servers allows them to concentrate on delivering the requirements of their clients.




In the case of multiple servers that are connected via a reverse proxy, the reverse proxy is also responsible for directing which requests are routed to which servers. There could be multiple web servers that provide identical content, but providing different types of services or a mixture of both. These servers may be using the HTTP protocol that is the standard web server, but they can also include different protocols for application servers, such as FastCGI. It is also possible to set up reverse proxy settings to direct visitors to specific server depending on the requested resource or to adhere to specific guidelines on the volume of traffic.




Reverse proxies also take advantage of their placement on top of web servers by giving them the capability to store data. Massive static resources can be configured using caching rules to prevent hitting web servers on every request. Certain applications allow users to serve static files directly without contacting the web server in any way. Furthermore the reverse proxy is able to manage compressing these assets.




The popular Nginx web server also functions as a well-known reverse proxy option. While there is similar functionality within the Apache web server does have a reverse proxy features as an added feature that is available for Apache whereas Nginx was designed originally for and is specifically designed for reverse proxy functions.



Distinguishing Forward and Reverse Proxy Usage Situations



Since "forward" along with "reverse" have connotations of directionality and misleading comparisons with "incoming" and "outgoing" traffic These labels could be confusing since both types of proxies process requests and responses. Better yet, the best method of separating between a both reverse and forward proxies is to look at the specifications of the application you're creating.




Reverse proxy is useful when designing a solution to serve web applications online. They are your servers when you interact with the internet.




Forward proxy is beneficial when they are placed before customers for the purpose of your own use, or even in a corporate environment. They are a representation of your customer's traffic in any interactions on the internet.




A case-based distinction instead of focusing on standard naming conventions could help in avoidance of confusion.



Conclusion



This article clarified what aproxy is and the two primary kinds that are forward and the reverse proxy. Practical applications and a discussion of the benefits were used to identify forward proxies as well as reverse proxies. If you're interested to learn more about how proxies are implemented You can read our tutorial on how you can configure Nginx as reverse and webserver proxy using Apache on an Ubuntu 20.04 server.



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