Since this tool hides your real IP address by covering it with an IP of a proxy server, you can fake your location and access geo-restricted content. Here are examples of situations when you might want to use a forward proxy.
This service will be useful whenever a user needs to hide their data for any reason. A reverse proxy balances out the load by distributing all the traffic between a cluster of servers. Also, this tool allows webmasters to balance the traffic that servers receive to make sure that the network remains operational even if it receives a large number of requests. Reverse proxies are used as part of server protection, making it more difficult for malefactors to attack a server and acquire its data. Thus, this technology hides the server's data. When reverse proxies are used, the user thinks that the requests are sent from a proxy, not from a server. It accepts requests from external servers and processes them before sending them to the user. So, a reverse proxy is a server-side technology. And “server-side” tools are working on behalf of servers processing the data that the server is sending. “Client-side” tools are working on behalf of users - just like a forward proxy processes the request sent by a user. To explain the technology better, we’ll introduce the terms “server-side” and “client-side”. What are reverse proxies?Īs the name suggests, reverse proxies should do something opposite to what forward proxies do. And considering that the destination server thinks the requests are sent from a proxy, the latter will receive responses and also recognize and then send them to the user. That’s why forward proxies are often used in offices to add a layer of protection to the corporate network. Therefore, the data of the user remains hidden.Īdditionally, users can set up a proxy so that it denies certain requests. And the destination server reads such a request as if it’s sent from a proxy, not from a user. It means that the requests the user sends first pass through the forward proxy and only then are sent to the destination server - a website, for example. A forward proxy serves as a shield right before the user connects to the Internet. Most of the time when someone speaks of proxies, they're actually talking about the forward type. In this article, we'll discuss the difference between forward and reverse proxies, and all the details you need to know about them. And while it’s quite easy to understand the difference between datacenter and residential proxies, reverse and forward ones might sound complicated. "I'm helping my select group of servers manage all incoming requests from arbitrary clients".Proxies can be frustrating because of all the nuances and kinds of services. In a reverse proxy, the association is with the servers, i.e. "I'm helping my select group of users access arbitrary servers". In a forward proxy, the association is with the clients, i.e. The difference between forward and reverse proxies lies in the association, which basically asks the question: "Whose interests am I serving?" "Medium" as a noun can also refer to the transport mechanism over which you're communicating.Īnd this touches a more basic question of "how can a medium be forward or reverse". Other Nginx instances can be ordinary web servers, or mail proxies or even load balancers (which often refers to "reverse proxy across multiple servers").Ī more accurate term is "intermediary", as in "I'm accessing some resources on your behalf". "Reverse proxy" refers to a specific function that a specific Nginx instance can take on. Why is the Nginx webserver called a "reverse proxy"? The phrase "nginx reverse proxy" means the nginx server configured as a reverse proxy. Like many web servers it can be configured to work in forward proxy mode or reverse proxy mode. Nginx is a web server, similar to apache and IIS. There are many use cases for both forward and reverse proxies. In this way the corporation only needs to expose one real web server. A reverse proxy would be programmed so that incoming requests for "" will be forwarded to the real web server for that site. The users can configure their browser to reach a proxy server, which will make the connection for them.Ī "reverse" proxy allows external clients to reach in to internal sites.įor example, a corporation may run a dozen different web sites behind a firewall. A typical "forward" proxy (commonly just called "proxy") is used to allow internal clients to reach out to external sites.įor example, a corporation may have desktop users who want to reach the internet, but firewalls block them.