Reverse Proxy Vs Forward Proxy - What's the Difference?

A reverse proxy is an application or service that sits between a client and a server. It acts as a gateway to another server.A forward proxy is a web application that sits on top of a web server and intercepts requests from clients before they reach the real server.

In this article we'll explain what they are, how they work, and which one should you use. There are two main types of proxies; forward proxies and reverse proxies.

Definition

A reverse proxy is an application or service that sits between a client and a server. It acts as a gateway to another server. A forward proxy is a web application that sits on top of a web server and intercepts requests from clients before they reach the real server.

Reverse Proxy

A reverse proxy is used when you need to access multiple servers behind a firewall. For example, if you're using a webmail program, you might use a reverse proxy to connect to your email provider.

The main purpose of a reverse proxy is to provide security and load balancing. In addition to providing security and load balancing, a reverse proxy also provides caching and compression. These features make it easier to serve static files such as images and CSS.

Forward Proxy

A forward proxy is used to connect clients to servers. It provides access to resources such as web applications, databases, and other services. A reverse proxy is used to connect a client to a server. This means that when a user requests a resource from a website, the request goes through the reverse proxy first. Then, the reverse proxy connects the user to the actual server where the requested resource resides.

A forward proxy does the same thing, except it forwards requests from one server to another. In addition to being able to access different servers, a reverse proxy also allows users to use multiple protocols at once. For example, a web browser might make a request to a website using HTTP (the standard protocol), while simultaneously making a request to a secure HTTPS site.