7 Strange Facts About Proxy Sites

The word "proxy" is a reference to the concept of a proxy or proxy server which is a server application which serves as an intermediary between client and server on the internet. Without a proxy, a user can send a request directly to a server and the server would return the resource directly back at the requester's expense. While this approach is straightforward to understand and use, adding proxies offers advantages like improved performance as well as privacy, security and many more. As a further layer of pass-through, the proxy functions as a security safeguard for the internet between clients and servers.

Generally speaking, the combined system of server hardware with the installed proxy software is often referred to as proxy servers. This article will focus on proxies which are generally thought of to be software, specifically with regard to servers on the internet. The article will provide a description of the two main types of proxies, which are forward proxy and the other a reverse proxy. reverse proxy. Each type has a distinct use case, often confused because of the similar terminology.

This article will provide the knowledge of what proxies are and which subtypes they belong to and the way they work with a range of configurations. Through this article, you'll learn to identify situations in which the use of proxies is advantageous, and select the best option between forward and reverse proxy in any circumstance.

Understanding Forward Proxies

The forward proxy also referred to as an open proxy, serves as an intermediary for a client trying to send a request over the internet to a source server. In this situation the entire effort to send requests made by the user is instead made via the forward proxy. The forward proxy, acting on behalf of the client, will take a look into the request. It will decide if this client can accept requests from this specific forward proxy. It will then deny requests or redirect them to the server that originated it. The client is not capable of having directly access to internet. It is only able to access what the forward proxy allows it to access.

A common use case of forward proxies is to gain greater privacy or security on the internet. Forward proxy is able to access the internet as the client, and in that process it could use a different IP address to that of the initial IP address of the client.

Based on how it's been configured in accordance with the method of configuration forward proxy may offer a range of features and allow you to:

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  Beware of tracking ads.
  
  
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  Circumvent surveillance.
  
  
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  Find restrictions based on your geolocation.
  
  

Forward proxies can also be used in systems that rely on central security and access based on permissions, like in a workplace. When all internet traffic passes through an open forward proxy layer, administrators can allow access to only a few people to connect on the internet, and this is filtered by an common firewall. Instead of setting up firewalls on the layer of clients that can be used by a variety of computers with different configurations and users and settings, firewalls could be installed at the layer that forwards proxy traffic.

It is important to remember that forward proxies need to be manually configured for use and reverse proxies could go unnoticed by the client. Depending on the type of IP address of a client is transmitted to the server where it came from by the forward proxy, privacy and anonymity could be granted or not.

There are a number of possibilities to look into for forward proxy:

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  Apache An open-source, well-known web server that provides forward proxy capabilities.
  
  
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  Nginx is another well-known open-source server for web hosting with the ability to forward-proxy.
  
  
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  Squid: An open-source forward proxy using the HTTP protocol. It's not the entire web server system. We have a step-by-step guide to set up Squid proxy to allow private connections in Ubuntu 20.04.
  
  
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  Dante Forward Proxy which uses the SOCKS protocol instead of HTTP which makes it more suitable for use situations such as peer-topeer traffic. It is also possible to learn how to set up an Dante proxy for private connections in Ubuntu 20.04
  
  

Understanding Reverse Proxies

Reverse proxy acts as an intermediary between a web server, handling incoming requests from customers on its behalf. The web server could function as a single server or as a series of servers. It could also serve for application servers such as Gunicorn. In any case the request will be made through the internet in general. Typically, the request will go directly to the server with what the client wants. However, reverse proxy serves as an intermediary protecting the server from direct contact via the web's public.

From a user's point of perception, the experience with reverse proxy isn't any different from working with the server by itself. It's exactly the same but the client can't distinguish between the two. Clients can make a request for the resource and it is provided with it, without any additional configuration required on the part of the client.

Reverse proxy providers offer services such as:

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  Secured centrally for Web Server Layer.
  
  
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  Incoming traffic is directed by rules you have set.
  
  
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  The caching feature is now available to users.
  
  

While central security can be a benefit of both reverse and forward proxy services, reverse proxy providers this service at the layer of web servers, but not the client layer. instead of the maintenance of firewalls at Web server layers which may comprise multiple servers with different configurations, most of firewall security can be directed towards reverse proxy layers. In addition, getting rid of the responsibility of working with firewalls and responding to requests from customers outside of web servers permits them to concentrate on meeting the requirements of their clients.

If there are several servers working through a reverse proxy the reverse proxy takes care of directing the flow of requests to each server. There could be multiple web servers that provide the identical service, but each providing various kinds of resources or a combination of both. These servers could be running the HTTP protocol as a conventional web server. But, they may include other protocols for application servers like FastCGI. It is possible to configure reverse proxy settings to send visitors to specific server depending on the service requested or to follow certain rules for traffic load.

Reverse proxies also have the ability to gain advantage from their position ahead of web servers, offering the capability to store information. The large static files can be managed with caching rules to ensure that they avoid websites from getting hit on every request. Some solutions allowing you to offer static files directly and without having to connect with the server. In addition the reverse proxy can manage the compression of these files.

The well-known Nginx web server also serves as an efficient reverse proxy solution. You can also use it, Apache web server has reverse proxy features as an alternative option to Apache however Nginx was originally designed for and is focused specifically on reverse proxy features.

Differentiating Between Forward and Reverse Proxy Examples

Since "forward" and "reverse" have connotations of directionality, and false comparisons with "incoming" as well as "outgoing" traffic, the labels could be confusing because both types of proxies are able to handle requests and responses. An alternative method to differentiate between forward and reverse proxy is to look at the requirements of the app you're creating.

A reverse proxy can be helpful when creating a solution to serve websites on the internet. They act as your web server in all interactions via the internet.

Forward proxy can be beneficial when it is placed in front of customers for your personal use or within a corporate environment. They are a representation of the customer's data when you interact with them on the internet.

Distinguishing by use case instead of focusing on common names can help in avoidance of confusion.

Conclusion

The article clarified the significance of a proxy with two types: reverse proxy and forward proxy. Practical use cases as well as an examination of useful characteristics were used to determine the two kinds of proxy that are reverse and forward. If you're interested to learn more about the advantages of proxies then we recommend that you go through our guide on how to install Nginx as an internet server as well as reverse proxy in Apache on an Ubuntu 20.04 server.

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