What is a reverse proxy?

A reverse proxy is a server that sits before one or more web servers and forwards client requests to those web servers. It is an intermediary between the client and the origin server, as shown below:

In the illustration above, three clients send requests to access web content or services through a reverse proxy server, which acts as an intermediary. Using load balancing, the reverse proxy distributes the requests across two origin servers to ensure even workload distribution. By efficiently forwarding requests and responses between clients and origin servers, the reverse proxy enhances system performance and reliability while simplifying traffic management.

How reverse proxy is different from forward proxy?

A reverse proxy is like a middleman sitting in front of web servers and forwarding client requests to those servers. There are some major differences between the two, which are given below:

Implementing a reverse proxy

To implement a reverse proxy, choose appropriate software like Nginx or Apache, install it on a server between clients and origin servers, and configure it to route requests accordingly. Then, set up routing rules and security measures and optimize performance before deploying it into production.

Uses of reverse proxy

The use cases for reverse proxy are as follows:

Security

Reverse proxies can filter incoming traffic, block malicious requests, and protect backend servers from attacks. These can hide the identity and location of backend servers, making them less vulnerable to attacks.

Load balancing

Reverse proxies can distribute requests across multiple backend servers, improving performance and scalability. This ensures that no single server gets overloaded, even during peak traffic.

Caching

Reverse proxies can cache frequently requested content, reducing the load on backend servers and improving client response times. This is particularly useful for static content like images and CSS files.

SSL termination

Reverse proxies can handle SSL/TLS encryption and decryption, offloading this task from backend servers. This can improve the performance of backend servers and simplify their configuration.

Single point of entry

Reverse proxies provide a single entry point for client requests, making traffic management and monitoring easier. This can also simplify the configuration of firewalls and other security devices.

Applications

• A reverse proxy can front a web application, providing load balancing, caching, and SSL termination.

• A reverse proxy can be used as an API gateway, providing security, rate limiting, and other features.

• The content delivery network (CDN) uses reverse proxies to deliver content from edge servers worldwide, improving user performance.

Overall, reverse proxies are a valuable tool for improving the security, performance, and scalability of web applications and other internet services.