A proxy, also known as a proxy often referred to as a proxy server, is a software that functions as mediator between client and server on the internet. Without the use of a proxy, clients could send a request for resources directly to a server and it would serve direct to users who requested the resource. Although this is a simple process to comprehend and implement using proxy services, it may offer benefits in terms of increased performance and privacy, security and more. In addition to providing a layer of protection, a proxy acts as a gatekeeper for the internet between servers and clients.

In general, the set of server hardware and proxy software is commonly known as a proxy server. In this post, we'll examine proxy servers, which are generally classified as software and also in the context of web servers. You will get a breakdown of the two major kinds of proxy servers: a forward proxy and a reverse proxy. Each kind has its own application, and is frequently confused because of a similar name convention.

This article will give you an understanding of different types of proxy and what their subtypes are as well as their value in common setups. Through this article, you'll understand how to recognize the situations in which an effective proxy is beneficial and pick the right option between forward and reverse proxy based on the situation.

Understanding Forward Proxies

A forward proxy also called an open proxy, also known as an open acts as an intermediary between a client that is trying to transmit a request over the internet to an source server. In this case every request made by the client will be sent direct to the forward proxy. A forward proxy, acting in the place of the client will review the request. The first step is to decide if the client's allowed to receive requests from this particular forward proxy. Then, it will deny any request, or redirect it to the server that originally received it. The client does not have direct access to the internet. It can access only what forward proxy gives its access.

The most common reasons for forward proxy is to increase privacy and security when surfing the internet. Forward proxy makes use of the internet as the client, and in that process, it uses an alternative IP address for the client's IP address.

Based on how it is configured based on how it is configured forward proxy could provide a range of features depending on how it is configured, which allows you to:

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  Beware of ads that track you.
  
  
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  Circumvent surveillance.
  
  
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  You can determine restrictions based upon your geographical place of residence.
  
  

Forward proxies can also be used in systems that provide centralized security as well as access to users based on permissions, for instance at a workplace. All internet traffic can pass through a forward proxy that is open, administrators can restrict access to only certain users to the internet, which is protected by an common firewall. As opposed to having firewalls installed for the client layer which could include multiple machines with various configurations and users, there is the option to install a firewall located at the forward proxy layer.

Take note that forward proxy settings must be manually configured for use, but reverse proxies are likely to be disregarded from the clients. Depending on whether an IP address belonging to the user is sent to the server where it originated by the forward proxy, privacy and anonymity can be granted or kept in the dark.

There are a myriad of choices to be considered for forward proxy options:

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  Apache is a well-known open source web server, that offers forward-looking proxy features.
  
  
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  Nginx: Another popular open-source server used for web hosting with forward proxy features.
  
  
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  Squid: A free forward proxy that uses the HTTP protocol. It's not the complete web server. Check out our guide on how to install Squid proxy for private connections within Ubuntu 20.04.
  
  
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  Dante is a forward-looking proxy, which utilizes the SOCKS protocol instead of HTTP to make it more suited for cases like peer-to-peer communication. It is also possible to examine how you can set up Dante proxy to allow secure connections within Ubuntu 20.04
  
  

Understanding Reverse Proxies

Reverse proxy functions as the web server, which takes care of the incoming requests of customers on its behalf. The web server may represent a single or multiple servers. It may also be an application server such as Gunicorn. In any of these cases, an application request comes from a user via the internet. The majority of the time, the request would be sent directly to the web server along with the information that the client is requesting. In contrast, a reverse proxy functions as an intermediary, and separates your web server from contact with the open internet.

From the perspective of the user's perspective, the process of using reverse proxy is similar to using a Web server to communicate in direct contact. It's the same thing however the client can't tell the distinction. The client requests a resource, which is followed by receiving it without the need for any additional configurations required for the user.

Reverse proxies offer functions like:

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  A centralized layer of security to protect the server.
  
  
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  The direction of traffic coming in is based upon rules that you can determine.
  
  
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  New feature added to caching.
  
  

While centralized security is an advantage of both reverse and forward proxy, reverse proxies do this feature to just the layer of web servers but not the client layer. Instead of focusing on the maintenance of firewalls at the server level that may contain many servers and different configurations, most of the firewall security is targeted at the reverse proxy layer. Furthermore, the elimination of the responsibility of interacting with firewalls as well as communicating with requests from clients far from web servers allows them to focus on serving the needs of their customers.

In the case of multiple servers existing through reverse proxy, the reverse proxy also is responsible for directing which requests are routed via which server. There may be several web servers that provide the same content, each providing different services or a combination of both. These servers may be using the HTTP protocol that is the standard web server, but can incorporate other protocols used by application servers, such as FastCGI. It is also possible to set up reverse proxy settings to direct users to a particular server based on the resource requested or to comply with specific guidelines on the volume of traffic.

Reverse proxies can also take advantage of their location over web servers by giving them the ability to cache data. The large static files can be set up with caching policies to avoid the web server from being hit with every request. Some solutions providing the option to serve static content directly without having to contact the web server in any way. Furthermore the reverse proxy is able to manage compressing these assets.

The well-known Nginx web server is also used as a well-known reverse proxy option. While there is an equivalent feature available within the Apache web server, it has a reverse proxy features as an added feature available to Apache while Nginx was designed originally for and is focused on reverse proxy functionality.

Differentiating Forward Proxy from Reverse Proxy Use Cases

Since "forward" in addition to "reverse" have connotations of directionality and misleading comparisons with "incoming" as well as "outgoing" traffic These labels could be confusing as both kinds of proxies process requests and responses. Better yet, the best method to distinguish between both reverse and forward proxies is to look at the specifications of the application that you're building.

Reverse proxy is helpful when building a solution for serving web applications via the internet. They represent your web servers when you use the internet.

Forward proxy are beneficial when they are placed before customers for the purpose of your own use, or even in a business environment. They represent the traffic of your clients when they interact on the internet.

The use of case-based differentiation instead of focusing on common naming conventions can aid in avoiding confusion.

Conclusion

In this article, we explained what a proxy is, and compared it to the two most common kinds that are forward and the reverse proxy. Practical applications and a discussion of the benefits were used to determine forward proxies and reverse proxies. If you're interested to learn more about implementation of proxies, you can check out our guide on how to configure Nginx as reverse proxy and webserver proxy using Apache on one Ubuntu 20.04 server.

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