Reverse Proxy

Reverse Proxy?

A reverse proxy is a server that sits between clients (users) and backend servers. It receives requests from the client, forwards them to the appropriate backend server, and then returns the response to the client — without exposing the backend server directly.

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Use Cases of Reverse Proxy in DevOps

1. Load Balancing

• Distributes incoming traffic across multiple backend servers.

• Ensures high availability and scalability.

• Example: Nginx or HAProxy acting as a load balancer.

2. SSL Termination

• Handles SSL/TLS encryption and decryption at the proxy level.

• Reduces the processing burden on backend servers.

3. Security & Access Control

• Hides the real IP and structure of internal services.

• Filters and blocks malicious requests (rate limiting, IP whitelisting/blacklisting).

• Acts as a Web Application Firewall (WAF) in some setups.

4. Caching

• Caches static content (images, scripts, etc.) to reduce load on the backend.

• Improves response time and performance.

5. Centralized Logging & Monitoring

• Logs all traffic in one place, making it easier to monitor and debug.

• Useful in CI/CD pipelines for tracking deployments and usage.

6. Routing & API Gateway

• Routes requests to different backend services (microservices architecture).

• Common in Kubernetes and containerized environments.

• Tools like NGINX, Traefik, Envoy, Kong are widely used.

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Reverse Proxy vs. Forward Proxy