Re: [squid-users] forward and reverse proxy - the difference

On 26.07.07 09:30, Ming-Ching Tiew wrote:
> Believe it or not, I got problem understanding the basics.
> What's the difference between forward and reverse proxy.
>
> When I read the article,
> http://jayant7k.blogspot.com/2006/10/reverse-proxy-using-squid.html
>
> When I read paragraph 3,4 & 5, I think what is said about
> reverse proxy is equally applicable to forward proxy. Is there
> a simpler way to explain the difference between the two ?

the 'reverse proxy' can be configured the same way as forward proxy, you
just need to play with hosts or DNS (DNS from outside points to squid, hosts
file or DNS on squid server points to other servers), so the squid operates
standard way - checks where to connect to and connects there.
In such case there is really no difference, you just need to be careful
about acl's (don't allow anyone to access any server) and play with hosts
file or DNS.

> But of course, for forward proxy, I would not need to configure cache_peer.
> So why is there a need for 'vhost' and 'vport' directive ?

the vhost and vport directives tell squid that connections to its local
IP/port should be automatically redirected to different host/port, so you
don't have to play with hosts/dns nor be that careful about acl's

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