It's a proxy, also called a proxy server. It's an application that functions to act as an intermediary for a server and a client over the internet. With no proxy in place, a customer can send a request to the server directly, and the server will provide direct access to that resource for the client. While this is a simple method to understand and implement with proxy services, it may bring advantages in terms better performance, privacy, security, and many more. A pass-through layer in addition to proxy, it acts as a security guardian of the internet between servers and clients.




In general, the set of server hardware along with installed proxy software is also commonly referred to as proxy servers. This article will concentrate on proxy servers which are usually classified as software and when referring to web servers. This article will provide a detailed breakdown of the two types of proxies: forward proxy and reverse proxy. reverse proxy. Each type has its own unique usage case, but they are often confused due to the same namesake convention.




This article will provide you with details about the types of proxies and what subtypes they are and how they function in the common configurations. In this article you will be able to identify the situations in which you can make use of a proxy and choose the best solution from reverse proxy and forward proxy in any circumstance.



Understanding Forward Proxies



The forward proxy, also referred to in the form of the open proxy is an agent for a user who wants to make a request via the internet to a source server. In this case, it's the scenario that all requests made by the user would prefer to be sent through this forward proxy. A forward proxy, acting in on behalf of the user, will examine the request. First, it must decide if the client is allowed to send requests via this particular forward proxy. Then, it will either deny the request or forward it to the server originally. The client doesn't directly connect to the Internet. It is only able to connect to what forward proxy permits for it to reach.




One of the most frequent reasons for forward proxy is to improve privacy or anonymity on internet. Forward proxy utilizes the internet as a client. In this way, it can utilize an alternate IP address that is different to the client's initial IP address.




Depending on how it's been configured, based on the configuration forward proxy can give you a variety of options. It will allow you to:




Do not click on ads that track you.


Circumvent surveillance.


You can identify limitations based on your geographic location.




Forward proxies are also utilized in systems that offer central security and access through authorizations, for instance in a workplace. When all internet traffic passes through a common forward proxy, an administrator can permit only a few clients online access that is blocked by a standard firewall. Instead of putting firewalls in place to protect the client layer, which can include multiple machines with different configurations and users the firewall can be placed in the layer that forwards proxy traffic.




Take note that forward proxies require manual setup to be used, while reverse proxies may not be noticed from the customer. Depending on the type of IP address the client, it is relayed to the server that originated it via the forward proxy, privacy and anonymity may be granted, or not be noticed.




There are many options to consider to find forward proxy alternatives:




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


Nginx is another well-known open-source web server that has forward proxy features.


Squid is a free forward proxy which uses the HTTP protocol. Squid doesn't provide the complete internet server. We recommend that you follow our step-by-step guide to set up Squid proxy for private connections on Ubuntu 20.04.


Dante Forward Proxy that uses the SOCKS protocol instead HTTP which is more suitable for use cases like peer-to-peer. It is also possible to learn how to set up the Dante proxy for private connections in Ubuntu 20.04



Understanding Reverse Proxies



Reverse proxy serves as a proxy for a web server that handles incoming requests from clients for. The web server could be a single server, or multiple servers. Additionally, it can serve in the role of an application server, such as Gunicorn. In either scenario the request is received via the internet at large. In most cases the request will be sent directly to the server along with the information the client needs of. Reverse proxy, however, acts as an intermediary and separates it from direct interactions with the internet's open.




From a client's perspective the experience of interacting with reverse proxy is not any different than interacting with a website server in direct contact. It's the same thing, and the client doesn't know the difference. The client makes a request for this resource and it receives it with no additional configuration required from the client.




Reverse proxy providers provide features like:




The web server is protected centrally.


Directing traffic in accordance with rules you decide to determine.


Additional functions to cache data.




Central security is an advantage of both reverse and forward proxy services, reverse proxy provides this benefit only to Web server layers but not to the layer that clients use. instead of maintaining firewalls on the web server layer that may contain several servers with various configurations, the bulk of firewall security lies at that layer called reverse proxy. Furthermore eliminating the burden of interacting with firewalls as well as communicating requests from clients who aren't connected to web servers allows them to concentrate on delivering the needs of their clients.




If there are multiple servers that are in a reverse proxy, the reverse proxy also is responsible for controlling which requests go to which servers. Multiple web servers might be hosting the same resources, offering different kinds of resources, or a mixture of both. They may use the HTTP protocol similar to traditional web servers but they could include other protocols for application servers like FastCGI. You can set up reverse proxy servers that redirects clients to particular servers in accordance with the requested resource or to follow specific rules regarding traffic load.




Reverse proxies can also benefit by their position in front of web servers, offering caching capabilities. The large static file can be configured by caching rules, avoiding having to call web servers for every request. There are even solutions offering an option to directly serve static content without touching the web server at all times. Additionally, reverse proxy can manage compression of these assets.




The well-known Nginx web server is also used as a well-known reverse proxy option. While Apache is also a reverse proxy service it is not the only reverse proxy solution. Apache web server is also equipped with a reverse proxy which is an additional function for Apache but Nginx was originally designed to and focused on the reverse proxy feature.



Differentiating Forward Proxy from Reverse Proxy Examples



Because "forward" or "reverse" are both associated with an impression of directionality and are misinterpreted as comparing "incoming" and "outgoing" traffic These labels could be confusing because both types of proxies process requests and responses. A better approach to distinguish between forward and reverse proxy is to look at the specifications of the application that you are building.




Reverse proxy can be a valuable tool to develop a solution to offer web-based internet-based services. They serve as your web servers when you connect to the internet.




Forward proxy applications are beneficial to display clients for personal use, or in a corporate setting. They serve as the proxy for your client for all interactions online.




The practice of separating by use case, instead of using common naming conventions can make it simpler to prevent confusion.



Conclusion



This article explains what a proxy is along with two kinds, which are the forward proxy as well as the reverse proxy. Practical applications as well as a brief overview of the benefits were used to distinguish forward proxies from reverse. If you're interested in exploring the possibilities of proxy services, then take a look at our tutorial on how to configure Nginx as an internet server and reverse proxy for Apache using an Ubuntu 20.04 server.



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