What is a Proxy?

A proxy is a server that makes requests on your behalf (the client). When you make a request to a website, the request is first sent to the proxy, and then the proxy makes the request to the website. 

Benefits of Using Proxy Server:

1. Caching Content
2. Filtering Requests (Security)
3. Providing anonymity for client (hiding their IP address)
4. Record user browsing. For example, a company might want to track down which product users are visiting the most, and how long they're on the page to gain insights on their users, which can be good for market analysis.

Note: Proxies operate at layer 4 and above

What is a Reverse Proxy?

A reverse proxy is a server that regulates traffic coming into a network, and it handles incoming client requests on their behalf. When a client makes a request to a web page, it first goes through the reverse proxy, and then the reverse proxy forwards the request to the backend server.The reverse proxy server can handle tasks such as load balancing, caching, SSL termination, and request routing,

Benefits of Reverse Proxy Server

1. Increases security by hiding the IP address of the servers
2. Blocks Malicious traffic such as DDOS attacks
3. Load balancing

What is Load Balancing?

Load Balancing is the process of distributing workload evenly across multiple servers. Load balancers sends requests to servers that can efficiently handle them to maximize speed and performance.

One common algorithm used is : Round Robin which distributes incoming requests in a sequential order to each server in rotation.