F5 LTM acts as full proxy whereas one needs to understand about two more terms before that.
How does Proxy Server Works?
A device or router known as a proxy server which acts as a gateway for users to access anything outside say on the internet. As a result, it aids in preventing online intruders from accessing a private network. It is known as a server because it stands between end users and the websites they visit outside; it is referred to as an “intermediary.”
There is a valuable layer of security which Proxies provide to the client, as they can also act as web filters, firewalls. This extra security coupled with a secure web gateway or other email security products adds an another top up wrt security.
Proxies may be used for personal purposes to hide current location while accessing secured data. For an organization, it can handle several key tasks such as:
- To improve security
- Protect employees’ internet activities from snoopers by providing them firewall.
- In order to avoid crashes, balance internet traffic.
- Limit the websites that office personnel and employees can access.
- By caching files or compressing incoming information, which conserve bandwidth.
what is forward proxy?
When someone talks about a proxy server, they typically mean the most popular kind of proxy, which is a forward proxy. Between users and the web servers it acts as a middleman means that the user’s request first passes via the forward proxy before it is forwarded to the website. After being retrieved from the internet, the data is forwarded to the proxy server, which then sends back to original requester. As when forward proxy server get the response traffic, it easily recognizes this request that went through it earlier and so it then sends that response to the client directly.
It appears on internet resource that request is made by the proxy server, not by the end user. A forward proxy can also store data and utilise it to handle incoming requests in the future and also improve user security within a private network, control traffic, provide anonymity by hiding actual source IP address.
Separate clients may send out different requests to different servers through forward proxy, and it will act as an intermediary for all of them – requests would be allowed or will be rejected as per the configured rules. Proxy servers can keep track of requests, responses, their sources, and their destinations.
In short it is acting as the single point of access and control so have more controls on enforcing SSL encryption, authentication or any set of security policies – primarily it is focusing on the client end security from private network. Question is if server need to serve from private network what should we use?
Web scraping is another common use for companies to gather data for marketing purpose or to compare pricing and to analyse other business strategies. Web scraping helps companies to stay competitive in the market.
The Reverse Proxy
As the name implies, a reverse proxy server sits in front of backend servers and routes the client requests to backend servers. Just opposite to a forward proxy, which acts on behalf of clients. In general, reverse proxies are used to increase security, speed, and dependability.
A reverse proxy receives a request from a client, forwards it to server, and then returns it to the client, giving the impression that the proxy server handled the request. These proxies ensure that users don’t access the origin server directly, giving the web server’s anonymity.
Reverse proxy servers are ideal for service providers and websites with high daily visitor counts, but they are of little use to consumers and everyday users. These proxies can safeguard web servers, improve the functionality of websites, and prevent overloading. Additionally, load balancing, caching, and SSL encryption are performed through reverse proxies.
Reverse proxy servers give users a single point of access and control – just like forward proxy do. Typically, it operates in conjunction with one or two firewalls to regulate traffic and requests made to internal servers.
Reverse proxy servers frequently serve as load balancers for end servers that are behind them. Network services that get a lot of requests must have good availability, and load balancers are essential for this. In terms of balancing load, a reverse proxy distributes incoming requests among a group of servers that are all offering the same kind of service. In case of F5 we are referring to pool and pool members.
In short both kinds of proxy servers pass requests and answers back and forth between clients and target machines. However, client requests for reverse proxy servers typically come through TCP/IP connections, whereas client requests for forward proxies typically come from the internal network behind them.
Summary
Forward proxies are used for a variety of purposes like online scraping, accessing geo-restricted material, and privacy; whereas reverse proxies are used by web servers to prevent overloading, offer additional security layers against malicious entities, cache content, encrypt SSL, and others. The primary distinction between these proxies is that they are utilised for fundamentally different activities.
What a forward proxy performs, a reverse proxy does the exact opposite of.
Full-proxy Support on the BIG-IP System
By enabling the BIG-IP system to send numerous concurrent, bi-directional streams of communications between the client and server, full-proxy architecture increases network efficiency. Instead of the conventional connection-oriented TCP proxy, the BIG-IP system’s message-routing proxy is used to achieve this.
A complete proxy maintains one session table with client side and one with server side.
Clients frequently have higher latency than servers due to their lower bandwidth connections in contrast with server high-speed LAN connections. These differences lead to performance related problems and availability challenges. Full proxy solves these problems as it can buffer the traffic and can optimize either way to match-up the connection as its flowing through it.
A full-proxy is both an endpoint this also implies that the full-proxy can have its own TCP connection behaviour, including buffering, retransmits, and TCP options, for each network stack as in OSI model. SSL termination, security policies enforcement, better performance services may be applied per-application basis.
On the server side, BIG-IP (a full proxy) can be utilised as a reverse proxy. Requests from clients through internet are routed through the same reverse proxy that is in front of the application servers. If there is WAF module of F5 known as Adv WAF then it inspects http/https traffic thoroughly to mitigate all kind of application attacks or vulnerabilities including OWASP Top10.
On the client side, BIG-IP acts as the forward proxy which means client makes an outbound request to the BIG-IP, the proxy represents the client to the outside world. This is ideal for client-side caching, filtering harmful information, acts as an inspection engine before it accesses the internet. In short both of the option of modifying client-side traffic going out to the internet, and server-side traffic coming in from the internet can enabled.
We also offer a diverse library of pre-recorded videos for any online training or buy self-paced courses.
“Get enrolled now”.
Email:info@netminion.net, netminionsolutions@gmail.com
Helpline: +91-9599857762(IN), + 19024124779 (CA)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/netminion-solutions/
Website: https://netminion.net
Videos Website: https://videos.netminion.in
Telegram Channel: https://t.me/NetMinionSolitionsOffical
Buy a Rack Rental : https://labs.netminion.net/page/login/index.php
Keep Learning! Keep Growing! Keep investing!
Welcome to NetMinion Solutions, a leading education training institute/company to nurture minds and fostering a passion for learning. No matter if you are a beginner or a professional – our dedicated faculty and state-of-the-art facilities create an enriching environment where you can explore, innovate, and grow exponentially – academically and personally both.
We are committed to practical learning and provide cutting-edge lab solutions, to enhance your learning journey – including CCNA, CCNP & CCIE, data center, Wireless, Cloud, VMware, F5 -LTM, GTM, ASM, APM, Palo Alto, SD-WAN, Checkpoint, ACI and list goes on.