Reverse Proxy Explained: What It Is and How It Works?
Written By
Ananaya Kandpal
Reading time: 4 minutes
A reverse proxy is generally used to offer load-balancing services and, increasingly, to apply web application security at strategic insertion points in a network through web application firewalls, application delivery firewalls, and deep content inspection.
Reverse Proxy: What is it?
In networking and web traffic, a proxy refers to a device or server that works on behalf of other devices. It exists between two entities and performs a service. Proxies are hardware or software solutions that sit between the client and the server in order to manage requests and sometimes responses.
The requested resources are then returned to the client, appearing as if they were created from the proxy server itself. It offers an additional level of security and control to ensure the smooth flow of network traffic between clients and servers. A reverse proxy also delivers the ability to direct requests based on a wide variety of parameters, like as user device, location, network conditions, application health, and even the time of day.
What is the difference between a reverse proxy and a load balancer?
Reverse proxy servers and load balancers are both components in a client-server computing environment. Both act as intermediaries in the communication between the clients and servers, performing functions that improve efficiency.
They can be implemented as dedicated, purpose-built devices, but increasingly in modern web architectures, they are software applications that run on commodity hardware. While they seem to perform similar functions, let’s explore when and why they are generally deployed on a website.
On the other hand, a load balancer divides incoming client requests among a group of servers to ensure satisfactory speed and optimized functioning. Load balancers are most commonly deployed when a site requires different servers because the volume of requests is too much for a single server to manage effectively.
Positioning different servers also eradicates a single point of failure, making the website more reliable. Most commonly, the servers all host the same content, and the load balancer’s job is to distribute the workload in a way that makes the best use of each server's capacity, prevents overload on any server, and results in the fastest possible response to the client.
Reverse Proxy Important?
A reverse proxy is used to offer load balancing services to offer smoother web experiences and, increasingly, to enforce web application security at strategic insertion points in a network through web application firewalls, application delivery firewalls, and deep content inspection.
When integrated with cloud deployments, a reverse proxy can enable cloud bursting and split-application architectures that deliver the economic benefits of cloud without compromising security.
How Does a Reverse Proxy Work?
A reverse proxy can function as a straightforward forwarding service or actively take part in client-server communication. A complete proxy prefers dual network stacks to treat the client and server as distinct entities.
A full proxy creates a TCP client connection along with a different TCP server connection with a little gap in the middle. The client connects to the proxy on one end, and the proxy sets a separate, independent connection to the server. This is bi-directional on both sides. There is never any blending of connections from the client side to the server side since the connections are independent.
What are the Key Features of a Reverse Proxy, and Why Do You Need One?
There are many reverse proxies out there delivering premium plans. Each solution provides a unique set of features. Here is a list of core features significantly found in an open source reverse proxy.
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Support for different protocols, HTTPS, TLS, HTTP/3, TCP, etc
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Load Balancing
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Routing
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Rate Limiting
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Authentication
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Request Validation
Thus, reverse proxies receive user requests, find the right server among a number of servers, and forward the user request to that server. Those of you using an individual server may be wondering whether or not it makes sense to even implement a reverse proxy.
