An proxy is also known as a proxy server. It is software acting as an intermediary a client and server over the internet. Without proxy servers, a user would send a request for resources directly to a server, and it would serve the resource directly towards the customer. Although this method is easy to grasp and implement however, adding proxy servers could bring benefits like increased performance as well as privacy, security and more. As an additional layer of passing through, the proxy acts as a guardian to the internet between clients and servers.

The combined system of server hardware and installed proxy software is also frequently referred to as a proxy server. This article will concentrate on the proxies that are usually described as software and in the context of web servers. There will be a discussion of the two main kinds of proxies. One being forward proxy and the other being a forward proxy and the reverse. reverse proxy. Each type has its own application, and is frequently confused because of the similar namesake convention.

This article will provide you with an understanding of types of proxies and subtypes in terms of their importance for the common setups. If you read in this post, you'll be able understand the situations when using proxies can be advantageous and choose the most appropriate option between reverse proxy and forward proxy, based on the circumstances.

Understanding Forward Proxies

Forward proxy, also known by the name of open proxy. An open proxy acts as the representative of a user who would like to forward a request via the internet to an the server which originated it. In this case any attempts to send requests from the client will instead be directed to forward proxy. The forward proxy, instead of the client will review the request. First, it will find out if the client is authorized to accept requests from this specific forward proxy. Then, it will deny any request, or redirect it to the origin server. The client is not able to have direct access to the internet and can only access what forward proxy permits it to access.

The most common reason for using forward proxy servers is increased privacy or anonymity online. Forward proxy's access to the internet through clients and in this way, it could use an IP address different from the original IP of the client.

Based on the way it's configured, forward proxy will grant a number of features as well as the ability to:

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  Beware of ads-trackers.
  
  
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  Circumvent surveillance.
  
  
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  Find restrictions that are based on your area.
  
  

Forward proxies can also be utilized in systems that provide centralized security as well as permission-based access, like in workplaces. If all internet traffic passes through a common forward proxy, an administrator is able to allow only specific clients access to the internet using a common firewall. Instead of putting firewalls installed to protect the client layer which could include multiple machines with different settings, users and environments the firewall is installed in an forward proxy layer.

It is essential to note the forward proxy configurations must be set up manually to permit them to be used in order to be used in reverse proxies, whereas forward proxy settings are not able to be detected by users. Based on whether or not an IP address belonging to a user is transmitted to the server that originated it via the forward proxy, privacy and security settings, it can be granted or kept in the dark.

There are numerous options to consider for forward proxy choices:

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  Apache A well-known open source web server that has forward proxy features.
  
  
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  Nginx: Another renowned open-source server used for web hosting with forward proxy capabilities.
  
  
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  Squid: A free forward proxy that runs on an HTTP protocol. It's not the complete Web Server System. We recommend our guide on the best way to configure Squid proxy to handle connection to private networks in Ubuntu 20.04.
  
  
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  Dante Forward proxy that makes use of the SOCKS protocol instead of HTTP and HTTP, making it better suited to scenarios like peer-to-peer traffic. It is also possible to learn how to configure Dante proxy for private connections in Ubuntu 20.04
  
  

Understanding Reverse Proxies

Reverse proxy functions as an intermediary between a web server, and handles requests from clients for the web server. Web servers can function as a one server or as a series of servers. Additionally, it can serve as an application server, such as Gunicorn. In any case the request for an application comes by a user on the internet at large. Typically, the request will directly go to the web server which hosts the information that the user is trying to find. A reverse proxy serves as a middleman to protect your website server from communication with the internet's open.

From a consumer's point of perspective, using reverse proxy doesn't differ from connecting to your webserver directly. It's basically identical, but the user can't discern the difference. Client makes a request for an item, and receives it, without requiring any additional configuration from the user.

Reverse proxy providers provide features like:

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  The server for the web is secure centrally.
  
  
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  Directing traffic in accordance with the rules you have set.
  
  
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  A new feature for caching has been added.
  
  

While centralized security can be a benefit of both forward and reverse proxy, reverse proxies provide this feature only to just the Web server layer and not to the client layer. instead of maintaining firewalls for Web server layers that may comprise multiple servers that have different configurations, the bulk protection of the firewall is directed to the reverse proxy layer. Furthermore, taking the burden of interfacing with a firewall and interacting with requests from clients off web servers lets them concentrate on providing resources.

In the case of multiple servers that have a reverse proxy in place, the reverse proxy is also accountable for deciding what requests are routed to the server. There could be multiple web servers operating within the server each serving different types of resources or a mixture of both. These servers may use the HTTP protocol, which is similar to a traditional web server. They could also incorporate application server protocols like FastCGI. You can also configure reverse proxy settings to redirect clients to specific servers based on the service requested or to adhere to certain rules regarding traffic load.

Reverse proxies are also able to benefit from their position over web servers by making use of caching. Massive static resources can be set up with caching rules in order to avoid getting into web servers for every request, with some solutions even allowing the provision of static files without having to connect to the web server in any way. Additionally, reverse proxy is able to handle compression of these assets.

The popular Nginx webserver is a wildly popular reverse proxy service. Although it's not a reverse proxy, the Apache web server is also available with a reverse proxy option as an additional feature that is available to Apache while Nginx was initially designed for and is specifically designed for the reverse proxy function.

Differentiating Forward Proxy from Reverse Proxy Use Situations

Because "forward" along with "reverse" are both associated with the notion of directionality and also inaccurate comparisons to "incoming" in addition to "outgoing" traffic, these labels can be confusing, since both types of proxy servers are able to respond to requests and responses. A different method of distinguishing between reverse and forward proxy servers would be to look at the specifications of the software you're creating.

Reverse proxy is an effective tool to use when creating a solution for serving websites on the internet. They act as your servers when you interact with the Internet.

Forward proxy is a great tool to have in front clients for personal usage, or even in a professional setting. They can be used to represent the traffic of your clients when you interact with the internet.

A distinction based on use rather than focusing on the common names can help in avoidance of confusion.

Conclusion

The article described what a proxy is along with two types being the reverse proxy and forward proxy. Examples of how to use them as well as a discussion of most useful features were used to differentiate forward proxies and reverse proxies. If you're interested in learning the ways to use proxies, we suggest that you read our guide on how to configure Nginx as an reverse proxy and internet server using Apache on an Ubuntu 20.04 server.

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