3 Must-haves Before Embarking On Proxy Sites

An proxy often referred to as a proxy server, is software that serves as an intermediary between client and server over the internet. Without proxy, a user could send a request for resources directly to the server and it would deliver that resource to its user directly. While this process is simple to understand and implement using proxy services, it may provide benefits in the form of increased performance as well as privacy, security and much more. In addition to providing a layer of pass-through proxy functions as a guardian to the internet between servers and users.

In general, the set of server hardware with installed proxy software is generally called a proxy server. In this article, we'll examine proxy servers that are typically described as software, and within the context of web servers. You will get a breakdown of the two primary types of proxy servers: the forward proxy as well as a reverse proxy. Each has its own use case, often confused due to a similar the naming convention.

This article will provide you with an understanding of different types of proxy and what their subtypes, as well as their value in the common configurations. Through this article, you'll be able to understand how to identify the circumstances that a good proxy could be useful, and choose the correct option between reverse and forward proxy depending on the circumstance.

Understanding Forward Proxies

A forward proxy also called an open proxy, also known as an open acts as an intermediary between the client who is trying to transmit a request over the internet to a source server. In this scenario, every request made by the client will instead be routed direct through forward-proxy. A forward proxy in the client's stead, will scrutinize the request. It will first decide if the client's allowed to receive requests from this particular forward proxy. Then, it will deny any request or forward it to the server that originally received it. The client does not have direct access to the internet. It is able to access only the information that forward proxy grants the client access.

A very common uses for forward proxies is to increase privacy or security when using the internet. Forward proxy utilizes the internet as the client, and in that process, it will use an alternate IP address in addition to the client's original IP address.

Based on how it is configured based on the configuration forward proxy could provide various features based on how it is configured and allows you to:

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  Avoid tracking ads.
  
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  Circumvent surveillance.
  
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  You can identify restrictions based on your geographical location.
  
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Forward proxies are also utilized in systems that provide centralized security and permission-based access, like at a workplace. Internet traffic can go via an open forward proxy. administrators can limit access to specific clients on the internet that is protected by a standard firewall. As opposed to having firewalls on the client layer, which could include multiple machines that have different configurations and users it is possible to have an firewall that is located in the front proxy layer.

Note that forward proxy settings should be set manually for use however reverse proxies will be ignored from the clients. Based on the fact that the IP address of a user is sent to the server from which it originated via the forward proxy, privacy and anonymity could be granted or kept in the dark.

There are a myriad of choices to be considered for forward proxy:

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  Apache is a well-known open-source web server that provides forward-looking proxy features.
  
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  Nginx: Another well-known open-source server for web hosting with forward proxy features.
  
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  Squid: An open-source forward proxy that uses the HTTP protocol. It's not the complete web server. Read our guide on how you can install Squid proxy to connect privately within Ubuntu 20.04.
  
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  Dante is a forward-looking proxy, which makes use of the SOCKS protocol instead of HTTP to make it better suited for cases like peer-to-peer communication. It is also possible to examine how you can set up Dante proxy for connection to private networks in Ubuntu 20.04
  
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Understanding Reverse Proxies

A reverse proxy is the web server that handles incoming requests from customers on behalf of. The web server may be a single, or a number of servers. It could also be an application server, such as Gunicorn. In all of these scenarios, the request for an application is received by a user on the internet. The majority of the time requests are sent directly to the web server with the resources the user is seeking. In contrast, a reverse proxy acts as an intermediary that isolates your website server from communication with the open internet.

From the point of view of the user's viewpoint the procedure of using reverse proxy isn't different from communicating with Web server in direct communication. It's the same thing and the client is unable to discern the difference. Client requests an item, and it is followed by receiving it without the need for any additional configuration needed for the end user.

Reverse proxy providers offer options like:

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  A central layer of security that protects the server.
  
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  The direction of traffic coming in is based on rules you determine.
  
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  New feature added to caching.
  
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While centralized security is a benefit of both forward and reverse proxy, reverse proxies do this feature to just the layer of web servers, but not the client layer. In lieu of focussing on maintenance of firewalls at the server level which can contain a variety of servers and different configurations, the majority of firewall security is targeted on the reverse proxy level. Also, the removal of the responsibility of interfacing with firewalls and communicating with clients distant from web servers allows them to focus on serving the requirements of their customers.

In the case of multiple servers running through reverse proxy, the reverse proxy is responsible to direct which requests are routed through which server. There could be multiple web servers providing the same content, and each providing different services or a mixture of both. They could be running the HTTP protocol that is a standard web server, however they could contain other protocols used by application servers, such as FastCGI. You can also set up reverse proxy settings to direct users to a specific server based on the requested resource, or to follow specific guidelines for the amount of traffic.

Reverse proxies may benefit from their placement over web servers by giving them the capability to store information. The large static files can be configured using caching rules to prevent hitting web servers with each request. Certain applications allow users to directly serve static assets without connecting to the web server in any way. Additionally reverse proxy solutions can manage compressing these assets.

The popular Nginx web server can also function as a popular reverse proxy option. Although there is similar functionality within the Apache web server, it has reverse proxy functions as an added feature available to Apache while Nginx was initially designed to and is specifically designed for reverse proxy functions.

Differentiating Forward Proxy from Reverse Proxy Use Situations

Because "forward" in addition to "reverse" have connotations of directionality and misleading comparisons with "incoming" and "outgoing" traffic, these labels can be confusing because both kinds of proxy servers process requests and responses. The best method to differentiate between the reverse and forward proxy types is to study the requirements of the app you're creating.

A reverse proxy could be useful when designing an application that can serve web applications on the internet. They are your servers when you use the internet.

Forward proxy can be useful when placed before customers for your own usage or even in a business setting. They are a representation of your customer's traffic in any interactions via the internet.

A case-based distinction instead of focusing on the commonly used naming conventions can help in eliminating confusion.

Conclusion

This article clarified what a proxy is, and compared it to the two most common kinds that are forward and reverse proxy. Practical applications as well as a review of the attributes that are beneficial were used to determine forward proxies and reverse proxy. If you're interested to learn more about implementation of proxies You can read our tutorial on how to set up Nginx as a reverse and web server proxy for Apache on one Ubuntu 20.04 Server.

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