A proxy often referred to as a proxy server is software that acts as an intermediary between a client and server on the internet. Without the use of a proxy, an individual can send a request for something directly through a server and the server would then deliver the item directly to the client. While this is a simple method to understand and implement, the addition of proxies can bring advantages in terms of improved performance, privacy, security, and much more. Alongside adding a layer of security proxy servers also act as a security safeguard for the internet between clients and servers.

The consensus is that the server hardware along with installed proxy software is often referred to proxy servers. This article will concentrate on proxies typically classified as software and within the context of web servers. We will provide a brief overview of the two principal kinds that are forward proxy and a reverse proxy. Each has its own specific usage and can be confusing due to a similar name convention.

This article will provide you with an idea of the nature of proxies and what their subtypes are and how they work in the normal configurations. By reading this article, you'll be able to determine the situations where it's beneficial to utilize a proxy and make the right choice between reverse proxy and forward proxy in any circumstance.

Understanding Forward Proxies

In the same way, a forward proxy sometimes called or an open proxy serves as the representative of a client who wants to send an internet request to an source server. In this case, every request from the client will instead be sent direct through the forward proxy. Forward proxy acting on instead of the user, will examine the request. It will first decide if the user is authorized receive requests from this specific forward proxy. Then, it decides if it wants to deny a request and transfer it onto the server that originally received it. The client isn't able to directly access the internet. It only has access to what forward proxy allows the client access.

The most popular reason to utilize forward proxy servers is to increase privacy or security on the internet. A forward proxy can be used to connect to the internet in instead of a client and, in this way it could use a different IP address than the IP address originally used by the client.

Depending on how they've been previously configured forward proxy servers may provide a range of options. They allow you to:

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  Do not be a victim of ad tracking.
  
  
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  Circumvent surveillance.
  
  
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  You can identify restrictions based upon your geographic location.
  
  

Forward proxies can also be used in systems that provide central security and permission-based access, like in a workplace. If all internet traffic flows via an open forward proxy layer administrators are able to restrict access to those clients who are and filter it through a standard firewall. Instead of having firewalls in place for the client layer which could comprise a variety of machines that have different user and operating environments, the firewall could be put into the forward proxy layer.

Note that the forward proxy setting have to be configured manually to function, while reverse proxies are able to be ignored by clients. Based on whether the IP address of the client is passed to the original server via forward proxy privacy and anonymity can be granted or not.

There are several possibilities to consider for forward proxies:

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  Apache is a well-known open-source web server that has forward proxy capabilities.
  
  
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  Nginx: Another well-known open-source webserver that has forward proxy features.
  
  
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  Squid: A no-cost forward proxy that makes use of an HTTP protocol. It doesn't provide a complete web server solution. Check out our step-by-step guide to install Squid proxy to allow private connections on Ubuntu 20.04.
  
  
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  Dante forward proxy that runs on the SOCKS protocol, instead of HTTP this makes it more suited to situations such as peer-topeer traffic. You can also examine the procedure for installing a Dante proxy for private connections in Ubuntu 20.04
  
  

Understanding Reverse Proxies

A reverse proxy functions as a representation of web servers that handle any requests that come in from clients in its place. Web servers can comprise a server or multiple servers. Also, it could serve as an application server like Gunicorn. In either of these scenarios an application request comes by a user on the internet generally. In most cases the request is sent directly to the web server with the data the user is seeking. Reverse proxy, however, works as an intermediary, securing Web server from any direct interaction with the public internet.

From a consumer's point perspective, which is also an individual's view, connecting via a reverse proxy similar to using direct connections to an internet server. It's exactly the same however the client cannot see the differences. The client requests an item and receives it without any further configuration needed by the client.

Reverse proxies provide features such as:

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  Centrally secured for Web Server Layer.
  
  
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  Controlling traffic that is inbound, based on rules you can design.
  
  
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  The caching functionality is now available to users.
  
  

While central security is an advantage for both reverse and forward proxy servers, reverse proxies offer this feature only to the server layer and not the client layer. Instead of maintaining firewalls on servers on the internet, which may contain many servers and various configurations, the majority of the firewall security is focused at reverse proxy layers. Additionally, removing the responsibility of interacting with a firewall as well as dealing with requests from clients outside of web servers allows them to concentrate on serving the needs of their customers.

When there is a multitude of servers hosted using a reverse-proxy, the reverse proxy is responsible to direct which requests are routed to which server. There may be several web servers that provide identical content or offering different kinds of content or a mix of both. They can use the HTTP protocol exactly the same way as a standard web server however, they may also use other protocols for application servers such as FastCGI. You can also set up a reverse proxy to redirect clients to specific servers based on the resource requested or to adhere to specific rules for traffic load.

Reverse proxies can also make use of their position before web servers by delivering caching capabilities. The large static files can be set up with caching rules to avoid hitting web servers with every request. There are solutions even allowing users to serve static files directly without connecting to the web server even once. Additionally, the reverse proxy can manage compression of these assets.

The well-known Nginx web server is also used as an extremely popular reverse proxy option. Although Apache has a reverse proxy service but it is not a reverse proxy solution. Apache web server also comes with reverse proxy feature as an additional characteristic of Apache while Nginx was designed initially for and focuses on its reverse proxy feature.

Differentiating Forward Proxy and Reverse Proxy Examples

Because "forward" or "reverse" have connotations of directionality, and false comparisons to "incoming" or "outgoing" traffic the labels can be confusing since both types of proxy deal with requests and responses. An alternative method to differentiate between reverse and forward proxy is to study the specifications of the application you're building.

Reverse proxy is useful when designing a web-based services over the internet. They serve as your web servers for when you use the internet.

Forward proxy is useful when it is displayed before clients for personal use, or in an office environment. They represent your clients when you interact with the internet.

A case-based distinction instead of focusing on standard naming conventions could help in eliminating confusion.

Conclusion

The article clarified the meaning of a proxy, which includes two kinds that are forward and the reverse proxy. Practical applications as well as a summary of the most beneficial characteristics were employed to identify between reverse and forward proxies. If you're interested to learn more about how to implement proxy services, check out our guide on how you can configure Nginx as an internet server and reverse proxy with Apache on an Ubuntu 20.04 server.

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