#Issue 35 - Reverse Proxy 101

Knowledge Byte

A reverse proxy is a server that sits between clients and backend servers, acting as an intermediary for requests.

Think of it as a receptionist at a busy office who receives all visitors, determines who they need to see, and directs them to the right person.

• Client sends request → Goes to reverse proxy

• Proxy receives request → Analyzes and processes it

• Proxy forwards request → To appropriate backend server

• Server processes → Sends response back to proxy

• Proxy returns response → Back to the original client

Why Use One?

• Load balancing: Spreads requests across multiple servers so no single server gets overwhelmed

• Security: Hides the real servers from direct access

• Caching: Stores frequently requested content for faster delivery

• SSL handling: Manages encryption/decryption

• Failover: If one server breaks, it routes traffic to working ones

Popular Reverse Proxy Software:

1. Nginx

   1. Most widely used reverse proxy

   2. Often sits in front of web applications like WordPress, Django, or Node.js apps

2. Cloudflare

   1. Cloud-based reverse proxy service

   2. Provides CDN, security, and performance features

3. AWS Application Load Balancer

   1. Amazon's managed reverse proxy service

   2. Automatically scales and distributes traffic

4. Apache HTTP Server (mod_proxy)

   1. Can be configured as a reverse proxy

   2. Common in enterprise environments

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Links Around The Web

1. Writing Clean Functions - I wrote a blog post listing down things to keep in mind for writing maintainable and scalable functions.

2. Awesome-Nano-Banana-images - Internet is all hyped up with Google’s Nano-Banana image model, and this repo listed down many interesting prompts to try on the model using your image.

3. Cognitive Load is what matters - This is a very good repo with examples of writing readable code.

4. An Interactive Guide to TanStack DB - A good article to learn about TanStack DB with examples.

5. Liquid Glass in the Browser: Refraction with CSS and SVG - Step by step tutorial on creating Apple like liquid effect using CSS and SVG, very math heavy but quite interesting.

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