The term "proxy" refers to a proxy or proxy server is program which acts as an intermediary for client and server over the internet. Without the proxy, a user will send a request to resources directly to a server and it would then serve the resource directly to the user. While this is a simple method to understand and implement, however, the addition of proxy servers can offer benefits like increased efficiency as well as privacy, security and many more. In addition to providing pass-through, the proxy serves as a guardian for the internet between clients and servers.

Generally speaking, the combination of server hardware and the software for proxy installation is commonly referred to as proxy servers. This article will focus on proxy servers that are typically classified as software, and in the context of web servers. We will discuss of the two main types of proxies, one being forward proxy and the other being a forward proxy and the reverse. reverse proxy. Each kind of proxy has its own purpose and can be confusing due to the resemblance of namesake convention.

This article will give you an idea of the types of proxies and subtypes in terms of their importance for the common setups. After reading in this post, you'll understand the situations when using proxies can be advantageous, and then choose the best option between reverse proxy and forward proxy based on the situation.

Understanding Forward Proxies

Forward proxy, also known in the context of an open proxy acts as the representative of a user who would like to forward a request via the internet to an the server that made it. In this case every attempt to send requests made by the client's end will instead be directed through forward proxy. Forward proxy in lieu of the client, will review the request. The first step is to determine if this client is allowed to receive requests from this specific forward proxy. It will then deny any request, or send it to its origin server. The client is not able to have direct access to the internet and can only access what the forward proxy allows it to access.

The most popular reason to utilize forward proxies is to increase privacy or security when surfing the web. Forward proxy's access to the internet as clients, and, in this manner, it could use an IP address that is different from the original IP of the client.

Depending on the way it's set up, the forward proxy can provide a variety of functions and the capability 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 the location you are in.
  
  

Forward proxies also are utilized in systems that provide central security and access to users based on permissions, for instance at work. When all internet traffic flows through a common forward proxy Administrators are in a position to grant only specific clients to access the internet through a single firewall. Instead of having firewalls installed for the client layer, which can involve many machines with varying settings and environments and users the firewall is placed in a forward proxy layer.

It is important to remember the forward proxy configurations need to be manually set up to permit them to be used in order to use them, while reverse proxy settings are not able to be detected by the user. Based on whether or not your IP address a user is transmitted to the server that originated it through the forward proxy, privacy and security settings, it can be granted or left transparent.

There are a variety of alternatives to take into consideration when considering forward proxy choices:

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  Apache A well-known open source web server that has forward proxy capabilities.
  
  
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  Nginx: Another renowned open-source server for web hosting with forward proxy capabilities.
  
  
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  Squid is a free forward proxy that runs on it's HTTP protocol. It's not the full Web Server System. It is possible to refer to our article on the best way to configure Squid proxy to allow 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 secure connections within Ubuntu 20.04
  
  

Understanding Reverse Proxies

Reverse proxy functions as an intermediary for 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. Additionally, it can function as an app server, such as Gunicorn. In all cases, an application request is made by a user on the internet in general. Typically, the request will go directly to the web server which hosts the content that the client is trying to find. A reverse proxy acts as an intermediary to isolate your server from interaction to the open internet.

From a consumer's point of view, interacting with reverse proxy doesn't differ from communicating with Web server in direct contact. It's functionally similar, however the client isn't able to tell the distinction. The client requests an item and is given it, with no additional configuration needed by the client.

Reverse proxy providers provide features like:

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  The server for the web is secure centrally.
  
  
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  Sending traffic to be directed according to the rules you establish.
  
  
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  A new feature for caching has been added.
  
  

While centralized security is a benefit of both forward and reverse proxy, reverse proxies do this only for just the Web server layer but not to the client layer. Instead of maintaining firewalls on Web server layers that may contain multiple servers with various configurations, the bulk protection of the firewall is directed at the reverse proxy layer. Additionally, removing the burden of interfacing with firewalls and interfacing with clients' requests off of web servers enables them to concentrate on providing resources.

If there are more than one servers existing with a reverse-proxy, the reverse proxy is also accountable for deciding what requests are directed to which server. There may be several web servers operating within the server all serving various kinds of resources, or a mixture of both. They could be using the HTTP protocol similar to a conventional web server. They may also use application server protocols like FastCGI. You can also set up a reverse proxy to route the clients towards specific servers depending on the service being requested or to follow certain traffic load rules.

Reverse proxies also can make use of their location on top of web servers through the capability of caching. Massive static resources can be set up with caching rules to avoid the web server from being hit with each request. Some solutions even allowing the provision of static files without having to connect with the server. Furthermore, the reverse proxy can manage compression of these assets.

The well-known Nginx webserver is an extremely popular reverse proxy solution. Although it is a reverse proxy solution, the Apache web server is also available with the reverse proxy function as an additional feature that is available to Apache whereas Nginx was designed initially for and specifically focused on reverse proxy functions.

Differentiating Forward Proxy from reverse Proxy Use Situations

Because "forward" in addition to "reverse" are both associated with the notion of directionality as well as false comparisons with "incoming" as well as "outgoing" traffic These labels can be confusing because 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 would be to study the needs of the application you're developing.

Reverse proxy is a useful tool when you are creating a solution for serving websites on the internet. They represent your web servers in any interaction with the Internet.

Forward proxy is a great tool to use when you are facing clients for personal use or even in a professional setting. They can be used to represent the traffic of your clients when you are on the internet.

A distinction based on usage case instead of using the standard naming conventions can assist you in avoiding confusion.

Conclusion

The article clarified what a proxy was as well as two types of them: the reverse proxy and forward proxy. Practical examples of its use as well as a discussion of most beneficial features was used to differentiate forward proxies and reverse proxies. If you're interested in learning how to implement proxies we suggest you go through our guide on how to set up Nginx as an internet server and reverse proxy on Apache on and Ubuntu 20.04 server.

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