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What is a Reverse Proxy? (vs. Forward Proxy) | Proxy servers explained

#Proxy
2024-12-12 09:199 min read

Content Introduction

The content provides a comprehensive overview of reverse proxies, describing them as intermediaries that handle client requests and route them to backend servers, enhancing scalability, performance, security, and resilience in web architectures. It contrasts reverse proxies with forward proxies, explaining how they interact with clients and servers. The document outlines benefits such as load balancing, caching to improve response times, enabling secure connections through TLS encryption, and managing web application firewalls. Additionally, it emphasizes the ability of reverse proxies to protect origin servers from direct exposure to the internet and various security threats, while also facilitating A/B testing and managing multiple microservices on a single server. The text concludes by discussing implementation scenarios, emphasizing how reverse proxies improve website performance and user experience.

Key Information

  • A reverse proxy serves as a middleman that takes requests from clients and forwards them to backend servers.
  • Clients can include web browsers, mobile applications, or internal microservices.
  • Reverse proxies enhance scalability, performance, resilience, and security of infrastructure.
  • They are transparent to clients, who perceive responses as coming directly from the backend servers.
  • In contrast to forward proxies, which sit in front of clients, reverse proxies sit in front of web servers.
  • Reverse proxies distribute traffic among multiple servers to prevent overload and increase availability.
  • They can also enhance user experience by caching content, reducing load times, and optimizing data transfer.
  • Security features include hiding the IP addresses of origin servers and blocking malicious traffic.
  • Reverse proxies allow for easier management of TLS encryption and general server maintenance without downtime.

Timeline Analysis

Content Keywords

reverse proxy

A reverse proxy acts as a middleman, taking requests from clients (web browsers, mobile apps, microservices) and forwarding them to backend servers. It enhances scalability, performance, resilience, and security of infrastructure. It is transparent to clients, making it seem like their requests are originating from the backend server.

forward proxy

A forward proxy serves clients by intercepting their requests to internet servers. When a client uses a forward proxy, requests are sent to the proxy first, which then forwards them to the destination servers.

load balancing

Reverse proxies can distribute incoming traffic among multiple servers, preventing any single server from becoming overloaded and ensuring efficient resource utilization in case of server failure.

caching

Reverse proxies can cache content to improve user experience by delivering previously fetched data quickly, thereby reducing load times for subsequent requests.

security

Reverse proxies provide security advantages by masking the IP addresses of backend servers from potential attackers and filtering requests to block malicious traffic.

TLS decryption

Reverse proxies can be configured to handle TLS encryption and decryption, relieving backend servers of this resource-intensive task and improving overall performance.

Canary deployment

Reverse proxies enable Canary deployments by allowing new versions of an application to be deployed gradually, facilitating real-time testing and rollback capabilities.

AB testing

Reverse proxies can be leveraged to conduct AB testing without modifying any actual infrastructure, allowing different versions of a website to be served based on user headers.

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