A proxy, also known as a proxy is also known as a proxy server. It is a program that acts in the role of intermediaries between a client and server over the internet. In the absence of a proxy server, a customer would send a request for any resource directly to the server and servers would provide direct to users who requested the resource. Although this method is easy to grasp and use however the addition of proxy servers may provide benefits like increased performance, privacy, security, among others. In addition to providing a layer of protection proxy servers function as a security guard for the internet between servers and clients.




There is a general consensus that the system of server hardware coupled with installed proxy software is also often known as proxy servers. This article will focus on proxies traditionally defined as software, and more specifically in relation with web server. This article will provide a brief overview of the two main kinds of proxy that are a forward proxy and a reverse proxy. Each kind has a distinct use, and can be confusing because of the identical namestamp.




This article will give you an idea of types of proxies, their subtypes are, as well as their importance in common configurations. By reading this article you'll be able understand the situations when you can benefit from a proxy and decide on the appropriate option between reverse proxy and forward proxy depending on the situation.



Understanding Forward Proxies



Forward proxy also referred to as open proxy, sometimes referred to as open proxy serves as an agent for users who wish to send a request via the internet to an source server. In this case every request made by the client will rather be directed via this forward proxy. A forward proxy in the position of the customer will look into the request. It will first determine whether the client is allowed to accept requests via this particular forward proxy. Then, it will either reject the request or forward it to the server from which it originated. The client will not be able to have directly access to internet; it is only allowed access to the information that the forward proxy allows its access.




One of the most popular uses for forward proxies is to provide greater privacy or security on internet. A forward proxy accesses the internet instead of a client's individual account, and in the process, it may use a different IP address as opposed to the original IP address of the user.




Based on the way it's set up, and how it's set up forward proxy can provide many options and let you:




Do not click on ads that track you.


Circumvent surveillance.


Find restrictions based on the location.




Forward proxies are also employed in systems that provide central security as well as permission-based access to the internet, for instance at a workplace. In the event that all internet traffic is routed through an open forward proxy layer, an administrator is able to restrict access to only certain clients to the internet. The web is filtered by an common firewall. Instead of putting firewalls on the client layer, which could involve many machines with varying settings and types of users, the firewall may be placed on the front proxy layer.




Be aware that forward proxies should be manually set up to be used, while reverse proxies can be not recognized in the eyes of the user. Depending on the kind of IP address the client, it is transmitted to the server which originated it via the forward proxy privacy and security may either be provided or rendered transparent.




There are many choices to be considered in determining forward proxy:




Apache is a well-known open source web server that provides forward proxy capability.


Nginx is another well-known open-source webserver which has forward proxy capabilities.


Squid: A free and open source forward proxy that utilizes an HTTP protocol. It does not contain the whole web server. We recommend you read our article about how to set up Squid proxy to permit private connections on Ubuntu 20.04.


Dante is a forward proxy that uses the SOCKS protocol instead of HTTP this makes it more suitable for scenarios such as peer-to-peer communication. It is also possible to learn how to configure the Dante proxy for secure connections within Ubuntu 20.04



Understanding Reverse Proxies



Reverse proxy is the web server, which takes care of requests from customers on behalf of the server. The server could function as a one server, or as a series of servers. In addition, it could contain an application server like Gunicorn. In any of these instances, a request would come through the internet at large. Most of the time the request is made directly to the server, along with the resources the user requires. A reverse proxy functions as an intermediary, separating your web server from communication with the web's public.




From a consumer's point of viewpoint from the perspective of a client reverse proxy use is not different from connecting to an internet server direct. It's basically the same, but the client isn't able to discern the difference. The client requests the resource and receives it without any further configuration required from the client.




Reverse proxies offer options like:




A centralized layer of security that protects the server.


Directing incoming traffic using rules that you can establish.


A new feature for caching has been added.




While central security is an advantage of both forward and reverse proxy solutions, reverse proxies give this feature only to only the server layer and it is not available to the client layer. In lieu of maintaining firewalls on the server level that could contain multiple servers and different configurations, the bulk of firewall security is concentrated on the reverse proxy layer. Additionally, removing the burden of interacting with firewalls as well as interacting with requests from clients outside of web servers allows them to focus on only the needs of their customers.




If there are multiple servers hosting through a reverse proxy, the reverse proxy also handles the routing of requests to the server that is hosting them. Multiple web servers could be providing the exact same service, serving different kinds of resources or a mix of both. They can utilize their HTTP protocol as a normal web server, but they may also include application server protocols such as FastCGI. You can create reverse proxy that routes clients to specific servers according to the requested service, or observe certain rules for traffic load.




Reverse proxies may also utilize their position prior to web servers, by providing caching capabilities. Large static assets can be set using caching rules to prevent from reaching web servers with every request. There are solutions offering an option to serve static content directly, without having to communicate with a webserver. In addition, reverse proxy is able to handle compressing these assets.




The well-known Nginx web server has become a very popular reverse proxy option. While it is true that Apache web server does have reverse proxy capabilities, Apache web server has a reverse proxy capabilities as an added feature available to Apache However, Nginx was designed originally to and is focused on reverse proxy functionality.



Differentiating Forward Proxy and reverse Proxy Examples



Since "forward" and "reverse" are associated with the perception of directionality, they can lead to misleading comparisons with "incoming" or "outgoing" traffic can be confusing since both kinds of proxies handle requests and respond. Instead, a better way to distinguish between forward and reverse proxy servers is to study the requirements of the app that you are building.




Reverse proxy is a vital aspect in the design of a method to run web-based applications via the internet. They function as your servers during any interaction through the Internet.




Forward proxy can be useful to display customers' information to your personal use or for use in a working environment. They represent the client's information whenever you interact on the internet.




A distinction based upon use cases instead of focusing on naming conventions that are similar will make it easier to avoid confusion.



Conclusion



This article clarified the definition of a proxy. There are two types of them being the forward and the reverse proxy. Practical applications and an examination of the beneficial attributes were utilized to distinguish forward proxies from reverse proxies. If you're interested in the use for proxy servers read our guide on how you can configure Nginx as an internet service and reverse proxy in Apache on an Ubuntu 20.04 server.



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