It's a proxy or proxy server, is a server software program that acts as an intermediary between clients and servers via the internet. Without an intermediary, a customer could submit a request for every resource straight to the server, and the server will serve the requested resource directly to the customer. While this procedure is easy to understand and implement using proxy servers, it could provide advantages in the form of more performance as well as privacy, security and many more. As a layer of pass-through, the proxy functions as a security protector of the internet between the servers and clients.




Generally speaking, the bundled combination of server hardware and software for proxy installation is usually referred to by the name proxy servers. In this article, we will concentrate on proxies that are typically thought of as software, and ones that work to complement web servers. You will get a breakdown of the two main types of proxies: forward proxy and a reverse proxy. reverse proxy. Each kind has its own unique usage scenario, which is often misunderstood due the similar naming convention.




This article will provide you with an understanding of what proxies and subtypes of them are, as well as what they can do for common setups. Through this article, users will be able to determine the scenarios where an effective proxy can be advantageous, and then choose the best option between reverse and forward proxy for any particular situation.



Understanding Forward Proxies



Also a forward proxy is also known as the open proxy is the client's representative who is trying to transmit a request via the internet to an origin server. In this scenario the entire attempt to send requests from the client will instead be made by the forward-proxy. In this situation, an agent acting on behalf of the forward proxy in in the place of the customer will look over the request. It is the first thing to determine which client has the authority to make 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 unable to have direct connection to the internet; it is only able to access what forward proxy grants it access to.




One of the most frequent reasons for forward proxy is to provide greater privacy or security online. Forward proxy can be used to connect to the internet in lieu of a client, and in that process it could use an alternate IP address to the IP address that was originally assigned to the client.




Depending on how it's been set up in the past forward proxy servers are able to perform a variety of tasks and allow you to:




Beware of ad-tracker.


Circumvent surveillance.


You can spot limitations based on your geographic location.




Forward proxies are also employed in security systems that require centralized and have permission-based access, such as in a workplace. When all internet traffic goes through an open forward proxy, an administrator is able to restrict access to certain users to the internet, which is blocked by a standard firewall. Instead of keeping firewalls in place for the client layer, which may comprise a variety of computers with different user and environment the firewall could be placed at the front proxy layer.




Be aware that forward proxy servers have to be manually configured for use, but reverse proxies are not noticed to the user. Based on whether or not an IP address from a customer is sent to the source server through the forward proxy, privacy and anonymity could be granted or not noticed.




There are a variety of options to look into to find forward-looking proxy services:




Apache is an well-known open-source web server, that offers forward proxy capabilities.


Nginx: Another popular open-source server used for web hosting that has forward proxy functions.


Squid is an open-source forward proxy which utilizes an HTTP protocol. This option doesn't include an entire web server service. We have a tutorial on how to configure Squid proxy to allow private connections on Ubuntu 20.04.


Dante Forward Proxy that utilizes the SOCKS protocol instead of HTTP, making it more suitable for situations like peer-to-peer connections. It is also possible to look at how to configure a Dante proxy for private connections using Ubuntu 20.04



Understanding Reverse Proxies



Reverse proxy functions as an agent for a web server that handles incoming requests by clients on its behalf. This web server may comprise one server or multiple servers. It may also act as an application server such as Gunicorn. In any of these scenarios, it is possible to get a request from a customer on the internet. Most of the time the request will be sent directly to the server that hosts the resources the client is in need of. A reverse proxy is a intermediary, which separates Web servers from direct interaction with the internet.




From a user's perspective, which is a user's viewpoint, interfacing with reverse proxy isn't any different than connecting directly to your webserver. It's the same thing, however the client can't tell the distinction. The client requests an item and is given it without any additional configuration that needs to be performed by the client.




Reverse proxy proxy servers can offer some features, including:




A centralized layer of security to protect the server.


Controlling traffic coming inbound according to rules you can establish.


A new feature for caching is now available.




Central security is an advantage of both forward and reverse proxy solutions, reverse proxy providers provide this benefit to the layer of the internet server and not to clients. instead of the maintenance of firewalls in the web server layer that may contain multiple servers with different configurations, the bulk of firewall security can be focused on the reverse proxy layer. Furthermore, removing the obligation to interface with firewalls as well as responding to the requests of clients from web servers enables them to concentrate solely on meeting the requirements of their clients.




If multiple servers are running through reverse proxy, the reverse proxy also handles the way requests are routed to which server. Many web servers may be offering the same content, but they may offer different kinds of resources, or some mixture of the two. These servers could use the HTTP protocol like a traditional web server, however, they may also include protocols for applications such as FastCGI. You can also configure a reverse proxy to direct clients to specific servers depending on the requested resource or to follow specific rules regarding traffic load.




Reverse proxies can also benefit from their positioning in front of web servers by supplying caching capabilities. Large static files can be configured using caching rules to prevent the web server from being hit every time a request is made Certain solutions offer the possibility of providing static files directly, without involving the server at all. Additionally, the reverse proxy could be able to handle compressing these files.




The popular Nginx web server has become a wildly popular reverse proxy option. However, the Apache web server is also equipped with a reverse proxy functionality and is an alternative option for Apache as opposed to Nginx was initially designed for and specifically focused on reverse proxy capabilities.



Differentiating Forward Proxy and Reverse Proxy Use Cases



Since "forward" along with "reverse" are associated with the notion of directionality and a false comparison between "incoming" and "outgoing" traffic. These labels can confuse because both types of proxies manage requests and responses. The best way to distinguish between forward and reverse proxy services is to consider the requirements of the application you're creating.




A reverse proxy can be helpful in the design of a solution that can serve web-based applications via the internet. They represent your web servers in all interactions with the internet.




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




Differentiating by case of use as opposed to focusing only on similar naming conventions can help you in eliminating confusion.



Conclusion



This article describes the definition of a proxy, with the two major kinds being forward proxy and reverse proxy. Practical application scenarios as well as an examination of useful characteristics were used to determine forward proxies as well as reverse proxies. If you're interested to learn more about the process of implementing proxy servers, check out our tutorial on how to install Nginx as a web server and reverse proxy on Apache on one Ubuntu 20.04 server.



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