proxies.md

June 20, 2026 · View on GitHub

🚀 Practice & deep-dive on EmbeddedInterviewLab

Study embedded system-design methodology and a community-ranked interview question bank on the website.

👉 Explore system design prep →  ·  Open the Interview Question Bank →

Procies

A proxy server is an intermediate server between the client and the back-end server. Clients connect to proxy servers to make a request for a service like a web page, file, connection, etc.

In short, a proxy server is a piece of software or hardware that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers.

Typically, proxies are used to filter requests, log requests, or sometimes transform requests (by adding/removing headers, encrypting/decrypting, or compressing a resource). Another advantage of a proxy server is that its cache can serve a lot of requests. If multiple clients access a particular resource, the proxy server can cache it and serve it to all the clients without going to the remote server.

Proxies server

Proxy Server Types

Proxies can reside on the client’s local server or anywhere between the client and the remote servers. Here are a few famous types of proxy servers:

Open Proxy

An open proxy is a proxy server that is accessible by any Internet user. Generally, a proxy server only allows users within a network group (i.e. a closed proxy) to store and forward Internet services such as DNS or web pages to reduce and control the bandwidth used by the group. With an open proxy, however, any user on the Internet is able to use this forwarding service. There two famous open proxy types:

  • Anonymous Proxy: ThÑ–s proxy reveаls Ñ–ts Ñ–dentÑ–ty аs а server but does not dÑ–sclose the Ñ–nÑ–tіаl IP аddress. Though thÑ–s proxy server cаn be dÑ–scovered eаsÑ–ly Ñ–t cаn be benefÑ–cіаl for some users аs Ñ–t hÑ–des their IP аddress.

  • Trаnspаrent Proxy: ThÑ–s proxy server аgаіn Ñ–dentÑ–fÑ–es Ñ–tself, аnd wÑ–th the support of HTTP heаders, the fÑ–rst IP аddress cаn be vÑ–ewed. The mаіn benefÑ–t of usÑ–ng thÑ–s sort of server Ñ–s Ñ–ts аbÑ–lÑ–ty to cаche the websÑ–tes.

Reverse Proxy

A reverse proxy retrieves resources on behalf of a client from one or more servers. These resources are then returned to the client, appearing as if they originated from the proxy server itself.

Reference

Grokking the System Design Interview by Educative.io