What The In-Crowd Won't Tell You About Proxy Sites

A proxy is also known as an application called a proxy, acts to act as a mediator between server and client on the internet. Without the proxy, a user could submit a request for an online resource directly to a server and the server would then serve the resource directly at the requester's. Although this method is easy to understand and implement but using proxies provides benefits such as improved performance and security, privacy, and much more. As an additional pass-through layer the proxy serves as a security guardian of the internet between clients and servers.




Generally speaking, the combined mixture of the server's hardware and installed proxy software is usually referred too as proxy servers. This article will focus on proxy servers that are typically defined as software, and when referring to web servers. This article will give a detailed breakdown of two types: the forward proxy and reverse proxy. reverse proxy. Each kind has its own unique usage scenario, which is often not understood due to the similar terminology.




This article will provide you with information about what proxy services and their subtypes, as well as the way they work with a range of configurations. After reading this article, you'll be able to identify the circumstances in which using proxies can be advantageous and pick the right solution between reverse and forward proxy in any given scenario.



Understanding Forward Proxies



The forward proxy, sometimes referred to as the open proxy acts as a representative for a customer who needs to make an internet-based request to an the server that made it. In this situation, the entire effort to send requests made by the user is instead made through the forward proxy. A forward proxy acting as a substitute for the client will check into the request. Then, it will determine whether the client has the right to send requests using this specific forward proxy. It then decides whether to deny any request or send it to the server that originated it. The client has no direct access to the internet. It can access only the content that forward proxy permits the client to connect.




A common use of forward proxy is to provide greater privacy or security while using the internet. Forward proxy allows access to the internet on behalf of a client and by doing this it may utilize an alternative IP address to the IP address used by the client.




Depending on how it has been configured and how it's configured, forward proxy may provide you with different features based the way it's configured and enables you to:




Do not be a victim of ad-tracking.


Circumvent surveillance.


Recognize the restrictions based on your location.




Forward proxies are also utilized to secure systems that are centralised as well as permission-based access in workplaces. If all internet traffic flows via an open forward proxy the administrator can grant only a small number of clients connection to internet through the firewall. Instead of setting up firewalls on the server layer, which can comprise a variety of devices that operate in diverse environments and users, a firewall could be placed in the front proxy level.




It is important to remember that forward proxies need to be manually set up to use and reverse proxies may not be noticed by the user. Based on the type of the IP address that a user is transferred to the origin server through the forward proxy Privacy and anonymity can be granted or denied.




There are many options to consider for forward proxies.




Apache A well-known open source web server that provides forward proxy capabilities.


Nginx is another widely-used open-source webserver that comes with forward proxy capabilities.


Squid: A free forward proxy using an HTTP protocol. This doesn't offer the entire web server. You can read our article about the best method to build a Squid proxy for private connections on Ubuntu 20.04.


Dante is an forward proxy that makes use of the SOCKS protocol instead of HTTP and HTTP, which makes it more suitable for usage scenarios like peer-to-peer communication. You can also learn how to set up Dante proxy to allow private connections on Ubuntu 20.04



Understanding Reverse Proxies



A reverse proxy is an intermediary for the web server which manages any requests that come in from clients on behalf of. The web server could comprise one or more servers. It could also be an application-server such as Gunicorn. In any of these scenarios the request will originate from the web at large. In the majority of cases, requests will then be sent directly to the webserver with the resources that the user is looking for. A reverse proxy functions as an intermediary, separating this webserver from direct communication via the open internet.




From the perspective of the user, the experience of interacting with a reverse proxy is no different than communicating with an internet server directly. It's functionally the same however the client can't discern the difference. The client asks for the resource, and is then provided with it without additional configuration required by the client.




Reverse proxies can provide features such as:




Security centralized to web server.


Controlling traffic that is incoming according to rules you have set.


New feature added to caching.




While centralized security can be an advantage of both reverse and forward proxy servers, reverse proxy providers provide this benefit only to that layer on the webserver and not the client layer. instead of the maintenance of firewalls on webserver level, that could include multiple servers and various configurations, the majority in firewall protection is targeted at the reverse proxy layer. In addition, getting rid of the responsibility of working with a firewall and responding to requests from clients via web servers allows them to focus solely on the requirements of their clients.




In the event of multiple servers operating with reverse-proxies, the reverse proxy also handles the direction in which requests are directed to which servers. Multiple web servers may be running within the same system, each providing different types of resources or a mix of the two. They may use the HTTP protocol just like a conventional web server, however they may also be able to be equipped with applications server protocols, such as FastCGI. You can create reverse proxy servers that redirect visitors to specific server based on the service you request, or to specific rules pertaining to the amount of traffic.




Reverse proxies can also benefit by being placed on top of web servers as they offer caching capabilities. Massive static files can be created with caching rules to avoid having to contact web servers for each request. Certain software solutions let you directly serve static content without having to connect with the webserver for even one time. Furthermore the reverse proxy is capable of handling the compression of these files.




The well-known Nginx web server functions as a well-known reverse proxy option. While Apache is also a reverse proxy solution however, the Apache web server also has reverse proxy functions, but it's an additional feature that is available to Apache as opposed to Nginx was originally designed to focus specifically on reverse proxy features.



Differentiating Forward Proxy from reverse Proxy Use



Because "forward" as well as "reverse" are associated with the notion of directionality, and misleading comparisons with "incoming" and "outgoing" traffic the names could be confusing because the two types of proxies deal with requests and responses. The best method to distinguish between forward and reverse proxy is to look at the needs of the application you're developing.




A reverse proxy is useful in the development of a solution to provide web-based applications over the internet. They are your web servers in any interaction with the web.




Forward proxy are useful when placed in front of users for personal use or in an office setting. They represent your client's activity every time you connect to the internet.




The practice of segregating by use case rather than just focusing on the most common naming conventions can ensure that you aren't confused.



Conclusion



This article provides the definition of a proxy using the two main types, which are the reverse proxy and forward proxy. Examples of practical use and an overview of advantageous features were used to differentiate between reverse and forward proxies. If you're keen to learn more about the benefits of proxies, then you can check out our guide on how to configure Nginx as a reverse and web server proxy within Apache on an Ubuntu 20.04 Server.



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