Understanding Reverse Proxy: Uses, Benefits, Drawbacks, and Setting Up in a Scalable, Secure, and Reliable Production Environment with Spring Boot Application

Introduction:

In today’s interconnected world, the importance of secure and efficient communication between clients and servers cannot be overstated. Reverse proxies have emerged as an essential component in modern web architectures, offering a range of benefits while addressing potential drawbacks. This blog aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of reverse proxies, their uses, benefits, drawbacks, and guidelines for setting up a reverse proxy in a scalable, secure, and reliable production environment with a Spring Boot application.

Table of Contents

1. What is a Reverse Proxy?
2. The Purpose and Uses of Reverse Proxy 2.1 Load Balancing 2.2 SSL Termination 2.3 Caching and Content Delivery 2.4 Security and Protection 2.5 Request and Response Manipulation
3. Benefits of Using a Reverse Proxy
4. Drawbacks and Considerations
5. When to Use a Reverse Proxy
6. When Not to Use a Reverse Proxy
7. Setting up a Reverse Proxy with Spring Boot Application 7.1 Scalability Considerations 7.2 Security Best Practices 7.3 Reliability and High Availability
8. Conclusion

1. What is a Reverse Proxy?