Proxy vs Reverse Proxy Server Explained
Forward proxy and Reverse proxy
A forward proxy(Proxy) is a server that sits between user devices and the internet.
**Hides the client's Identity from the server**
- Protect Client
- Avoid browsing restrictions
- Block access to certain content
A reverse proxy is a server that accepts a request from the client, forwards the request to web servers, and returns the results to the client as if the proxy server had processed the request.
**Hides the server's identity from the client**
- Protect servers
- Load Balancing
- Cache static contents
- Encrypt and decrypt SSL communications
Reverse Proxy and Load Balancer
- Load balancing focuses on scalability by distributing traffic across multiple servers.
- Reverse proxy manages client-server communication, acting as a gateway that routes requests based on criteria like URI.
- Reverse proxies also offer features like caching, compression, and SSL termination.
- Load balancers can handle SSL too, but their primary goal is to scale the system.Summary: