Proxy and reverse proxy
The proxy that goes out on behalf of clients and the reverse proxy that stands in front of servers: what they are for, when to use them, what they cost and what breaks when they fail.
- 33 cards
- 3 topics
- Free
The outline, topic by topic
Each topic is weighted the way the exam weighs it.
- Concepts
- Scenarios
- Trade-offs and failures
A few cards from the deck
Forward proxy: what is it?
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An intermediary on the clients' side that sends their requests to the Internet on their behalf.
The visited server sees the proxy's address, not the client's. It is used to filter, log or cache a network's outgoing traffic.
A company wants to stop its staff from reaching some sites and to log their Internet access. What does it set up?
- A forward proxy for the company network
- A reverse proxy in front of its web servers
- A CDN
- A load balancer
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A forward proxy for the company network
Outgoing traffic goes through the proxy, which can filter and log. A reverse proxy protects servers, not workstations.
Reverse proxy: what is it?
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An intermediary in front of the servers that receives clients' requests and passes them to internal servers.
The client only knows the reverse proxy's address. It terminates HTTPS, caches, spreads load and shields the servers.
What happens if the only reverse proxy fails?
- The whole site becomes unreachable, even if the servers behind it work
- Only static files are affected
- Nothing, clients reach the servers directly
- Only HTTPS stops working
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The whole site becomes unreachable, even if the servers behind it work
It is a single point of failure: run two or use a redundant service.