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I know the difference between a forward and reverse proxy, but am not clear on how a reverse proxy is different from a gateway.
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API gateway functions as a reverse proxy to accept all API calls, aggregate the required services, and return the right result. An API gateway has more functionalities than an API proxy, especially in security and monitoring. The Backend for Frontend (BFF) design is commonly used in Microservices development.
A reverse proxy server is a type of proxy server that typically sits behind the firewall in a private network and directs client requests to the appropriate backend server. A reverse proxy provides an additional level of abstraction and control to ensure the smooth flow of network traffic between clients and servers.
There are two types of proxies: forward proxies (or tunnel, or gateway) and reverse proxies (used to control and protect access to a server for load-balancing, authentication, decryption or caching).
A traditional forward proxy server allows multiple clients to route traffic to an external network. For instance, a business may have a proxy that routes and filters employee traffic to the public Internet. A reverse proxy, on the other hand, routes traffic on behalf of multiple servers.
A gateway is about routing.
When a computer wants to communicate with another computer in a different network, it usually uses the gateway to get out of its own network. Gateways take care of routing data packets between separate networks.
A proxy is about representing another computer(s)/server(s) in a network.
Usually it is done for different purposes like load balancing, caching, access blocking, etc. The client is unaware that it talks to proxy instead of to the actual server (reverse proxy).
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