Networking Intermediate

What is Reverse Proxy?

A server that sits between clients and backend servers, forwarding client requests and returning server responses on their behalf.

A reverse proxy accepts requests from the internet and forwards them to backend servers. Unlike a forward proxy (which serves clients), a reverse proxy serves the backend infrastructure. Clients interact with the proxy, unaware of the actual servers.

Benefits include load balancing, SSL termination, caching, compression, and security (hiding backend server details). Nginx and Apache are popular reverse proxy solutions. CDNs like Cloudflare act as global reverse proxies.

Related Terms

VPN (Virtual Private Network)

A technology that creates an encrypted tunnel between your device and a remote server, securing internet traffic.

A formatted unit of data carried over a network, containing headers with routing information and a payload with the actual data.

DNS Propagation

The time it takes for DNS record changes to spread across all DNS servers worldwide, typically taking up to 48 hours.

The protocol used for transferring web pages and data between browsers and servers, with HTTPS adding encryption.

HTTP Keep-Alive

An HTTP mechanism that reuses a single TCP connection for multiple requests, reducing the overhead of establishing new connections.

Two transport layer protocols: TCP provides reliable, ordered delivery while UDP provides fast, connectionless delivery without guarantees.

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