What are forward proxy and reverse proxy

1. What is a forward proxy? A forward proxy is a proxy server that sits between the client and the server and sends requests to other servers on behalf of the client.

The common scenario is that when the client cannot directly access certain resources, it can access them through a forward proxy. The forward proxy server forwards the client's request to the target server and returns the response to the client. The forward proxy server can cache the response of the request to increase the access speed, and can authenticate and authorize the client.

Usually we use more proxy IP or VPN for this kind of scenario.

2. Scenarios of forward proxy usage Where is the forward proxy generally used? The following are several common forward proxy scenarios:

1. V/P/N
It stands for "Virtual Private Network", which is a service that protects Internet connection and online privacy. For example, in order to protect the privacy and security of the company, we set up the company's network so that only those who log in through VPN can access it.

2. Dynamic IP proxy The most common scenario for dynamic IP proxy is web crawlers, because most websites restrict access to IPs to avoid frequent visits and crawling. If you use the same IP to access, it will soon be unrestricted and inaccessible. Because we need a dynamic IP server to help us forward requests, so as to avoid being detected by the target server as frequent crawling.

3. Hide client IP
Hiding the client IP is what we often see in movies. Hackers use proxies to hide their real IP to avoid being discovered by others, so as to find out the actual address of the hacker.

3. What is a reverse proxy? A reverse proxy is a proxy server. When a client sends a request to a server, the proxy server obtains resources from one or more backend servers and returns them to the client. The client only knows the IP address of the reverse proxy and does not know the existence of the server cluster behind the proxy server. In contrast to a forward proxy, a reverse proxy acts as a proxy on the server side, not as a proxy on the client side, and is used to hide the real server side.

4. Usage scenarios of reverse proxy
1. Bastion Host The bastion host is a security audit system that controls various permissions or operations to log in to the server, can supervise the operations of employees, and play a role in restraining and monitoring employees' behavior. Through the bastion host, we can control employees' access to the server and protect the security of the real server.

2. nginx load balancing A load balancing server (Load Balancer) is a device or software used to distribute network requests and traffic. Its main purpose is to evenly distribute the load among multiple servers (or computing resources) to ensure that these servers can efficiently process requests together and improve the performance, availability and stability of the system. For example, we commonly use nginx as a load balancing server.

In summary, the main difference between forward proxy and reverse proxy is that the objects of the proxy are different. For the client of the forward proxy, what the server accesses is the real client; the reverse proxy represents the server, and for the client, what is accessed is the real server.

5. How to choose a proxy IP
After understanding the principles of forward proxy and reverse proxy, how should we choose our own suitable IP proxy to better protect our business:

1. Choose a dual-protocol proxy that integrates both https and socks5. It is more compatible with more of our own applications and can be used in different scenarios.

2. Choose a more stable proxy. A stable proxy can ensure the smooth operation of the business. If the connection is often disconnected or the data cannot be uploaded/uploaded, it will seriously affect our data security and the smooth operation of the business. Kookeey Global Proxy supports dual protocols, pure, safe and stable, with dynamic and static equipment, suitable for cross-border business