por A reverse proxy It is a resource that is located in front of web servers with the objective of forward requests made by the user to those same servers, through elements such as a browser. This means that it is located within two entities and performs a specific service, in this case, sending a request to the web server.
These reverse proxy actions contribute to creating a new level of abstraction and control which helps increase system performance, security and reliability, while taking care of ensure smooth flow of network traffic between a server and a user.
Features of a reverse proxy
A reverse proxy is characterized by stand in the middle of the link between servers and users, which allows the latter to make web requests by going to the proxy directly, instead of going through the server first. That request is then forwarded to the given server.
In addition to this, a reverse proxy has the ability to direct client requests to a wide range of parameters and optionssuch as, for example, network conditions, the state of the application where it is executed, the location and device of the client, among other properties.
So a reverse proxy It is typically used for the purpose of load balancing. for web applications, as well as Application Programming Interfaces. In addition to this, they can be used in tasks such as downloading app services, thus helping to improve their performance through strategies such as smart compression (i.e., removing redundant patterns belonging to a given data stream), as well as caching.
It should also be added that a reverse type proxy can be implemented as a client request forwarding service or actively participate in this exchange of signals between web servers and users.
Another important characteristic of this element is that it is usually used by multiple websites with the aim of improve speed levels related to page loadingbecause, with a reverse proxy, the user’s request is directly executed, which reduces the processing times of your request.
Advantages of a reverse proxy
Among the main advantages of implementing a reverse proxy are elements such as the following:
Load balancing
This process is also known within the IT sector by its Anglo-Saxon name. load balancing and refers to the uniform distribution of incoming traffic between the various servers that has a certain website. This prevents just one of your servers from being overloaded by the number of visitors. So, on occasions where a server presents some type of failure, another of these servers is responsible for intervening to properly manage the traffic assigned to that resource.
The reverse proxy will therefore be responsible for ensure that each of the website servers handles an equal number of requests of user.
SSL encryption
Another advantage of implementing a reverse proxy is its SSL encryption, which consists of decryption of client requests entering the system, while encrypting the responses that come out. These tasks contribute to the release of the origin server’s own resources, thus allowing an improvement in its operation.
Protection against attacks
When a reverse proxy is implemented, the user also benefits from their security, because you do not need to reveal the IP address of your servers. The non-identification of the IP makes it difficult for an attacker to attack these services, since they can only be redirected to the reverse proxy, which has more robust security parameters and better resources to prevent these types of attacks.
What is the next step?
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