A proxy, also called a proxy server. It is software that acts as an intermediary between client and server via the internet. Without a proxy, a client could send a request for resources directly to a server, and it would deliver the resource directly to the user. Although this method is easy to comprehend and implement, however, the addition of proxy servers can offer benefits such as increased efficiency and privacy, security and more. In addition to providing passing through, the proxy acts as a guardian for the internet between clients and servers.

The combination of server hardware and installed proxy software is also often described as proxy servers. This article will concentrate on proxies typically described as software and specifically in relation to web servers. The article will provide a detailed discussion of two 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 can be confusing because of the similar namesake convention.

This article will provide you with an understanding of what proxies and subtypes are in terms of their value for common setups. After reading the article carefully, you'll be able understand the situations when using proxies can be advantageous, and then choose the best choice between reverse proxy and forward proxy based on the situation.

Understanding Forward Proxies

Forward proxy, also referred to in the context of open proxy. An open proxy serves as the representative of a user who would like to send an internet request to the server which originated it. In this scenario any attempts to send requests made by the client's end will instead be routed through forward proxy. Forward proxy in place of the client, will examine the request. The first step is to determine if this client is authorized to accept requests from this specific forward proxy. It will then reject any request or forward it to its origin server. The client is not able to have direct access to the internet; it can only reach what the forward proxy allows it to connect to.

The most popular reason to use forward proxies is the increased privacy or anonymity when surfing the web. A forward proxy accesses the internet as clients and, in this manner it may use an IP address distinct from the original IP of the client.

Based on the way it's configured, forward proxy will give you a range of options 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 based on your location.
  
  

Forward proxies are also employed in systems that offer central security and permission-based access, like in workplaces. All internet traffic can pass through a forward proxy and administrators are able to allow only specific clients access to the internet via a common firewall. Instead of putting firewalls in place to protect the client layer which could include multiple machines with varying settings and users and environments A firewall could be installed in an forward proxy layer.

It is important to remember the forward proxy configurations must be manually setup to allow the use of these proxy servers in order to use them, while reverse proxy settings are not able to be detected by the user. Based on your IP address a user is passed on to the server that originated it through the forward proxy, the privacy and security can be granted or left transparent.

There are many options to consider for forward proxy options:

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  Apache A well-known open source web server with forward proxy capabilities.
  
  
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  Nginx Another well-known open-source server for web hosting with forward proxy functions.
  
  
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  Squid: A no-cost forward proxy that utilizes it's HTTP protocol. It's not the full webserver system. It is possible to refer to our article on the most efficient method to set up Squid proxy for private connections 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 for scenarios such as peer-to-peer communication. You can also check out how to configure Dante proxy to allow private connections in Ubuntu 20.04
  
  

Understanding Reverse Proxies

Reverse proxy functions as an intermediary to a web server, and takes care of requests from clients on behalf of. The web server may serve as a single server or as a series of servers. In addition, it could be an application server such as Gunicorn. In all cases, an application request comes by a user on the internet in general. Typically, the request will directly go to the web server which hosts what the client is looking for. A reverse proxy serves as a middleman to protect your website server from communication via the web's public.

From a consumer's point perspective, using reverse proxy doesn't differ from interacting with your webserver directly. It's basically the same but the client cannot tell the difference. Client requests an item and gets it with no additional configuration needed for the end user.

Reverse proxy providers provide features like:

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  The web server is secured centrally.
  
  
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  The sending of traffic in accordance with the rules you have set.
  
  
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  The caching functionality was added to the application.
  
  

While centralized security is an advantage of both forward and reverse proxy, reverse proxies do this feature only to only the server layer and not to the client layer. instead of maintaining firewalls on Web server layers that may comprise multiple servers that have different configurations, the bulk of firewall security is aimed to the reverse proxy layer. In addition, taking the burden of interacting with a firewall and interacting with requests from clients off of web servers lets them focus on serving resources.

If there are multiple servers existing with a reverse-proxy, the reverse proxy is also responsible for controlling which requests go at which server. There could be multiple web servers running within the server each serving different kinds of resources or a combination of the two. These servers could use the HTTP protocol, which is similar to a traditional web server. They could also incorporate protocols for application servers like FastCGI. You can also set up reverse proxy servers to direct clients to specific servers in accordance with the service being requested, or to observe certain traffic load rules.

Reverse proxies also can make use of their location over web servers by making use of caching. The large static files 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 with the server. In addition, the reverse proxy can handle compression of these files.

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

Distinguishing Forward Proxy from Reverse Proxy Use Situations

Because "forward" in addition to "reverse" are both associated with a sense of directionality as well as inaccurate comparisons to "incoming" as well as "outgoing" traffic These labels can be confusing as both types of proxies can be used to handle requests as well as responses. A different method of distinguishing between forward and reverse proxy servers is to analyze the specifications of the software you are developing.

Reverse proxy is an effective tool to use when designing a solution to host applications that are on the web. They are your web servers in any interaction with the Internet.

Forward proxy can be useful to have working with clients in front to use for personal purposes or even in a business environment. They represent your client traffic when you interact with the internet.

A distinction based on use cases instead of using the standard names can help in getting rid of confusion.

Conclusion

The article explained what a proxy is as well as two types of them: the reverse proxy and forward proxy. Practical examples of use and a discussion of most effective features were utilized to differentiate forward proxies from reverse proxies. If you'd like to explore the ways to use proxies, we suggest that you read our tutorial on how to configure Nginx as an reverse proxy and internet server on Apache using an Ubuntu 20.04 server.

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