If you’re setting up your server architecture, you’re probably wondering if you need a reverse proxy, a load balancer, or both to handle traffic better. To help you make an informed decision, we’ll explore the reverse proxy vs load balancer showdown in detail, including definitions of both components and how they compare. Read on!
What Is a Load Balancer?
A load balancer regulates the traffic between web users and servers. It uses server load balancing to more evenly share traffic between a pool of servers or over a local area network. By doing so, it allows websites and applications to scale up capacity in need. In the event of a sudden influx of traffic that could potentially crash a single server, the balancer redistributes it to ensure that each server receives only as much as it can handle.
That said, load balancers do not simply reroute to new servers blindly. They run on a carefully calibrated algorithm to determine the best distribution pattern. They will also run a health check on any new server they are adding to ensure it’s available. If the server fails, it will be removed from the rotation, and the balancer will move to the next in line.
Businesses using this tool can scale up operations quickly by adding additional server capacity. Note that the load balancer requires more than one server to be a worthwhile investment.
What Is a Reverse Proxy?
Now, for the other contestant in the load balancer vs reverse proxy showdown, a reverse proxy intercepts traffic from the web user and redirects it to the web servers. It is one of the different types of proxy.
The standard proxy server intercepts the requests from web users and forwards them to the servers for processing. It works on the origin server side to restrict traffic from within the organization to the outside. By contrast, the reverse proxy server works with multiple servers and sits on the perimeter of the network.
Learn more: What is a rotating proxy?
You might use a reverse proxy for several reasons:
- Load balancing: A reverse proxy can perform a load balancing function and distribute traffic evenly between a pool of servers. This prevents the servers from crashing.
- Security: The reverse proxy disguises the origin servers’ IP address protecting against DDoS attacks and other targeted attack vectors. The reverse proxy provider will have greater resources to deal with such risks. In fact, reverse proxies are increasingly important for cybersecurity.
- Global server load balancing: This allows your website to be distributed across a range of servers. The reverse proxy identifies the server geographically closest to the client and sends their request to this server. This reduces the site’s load times.
- Caching: The reverse proxy can cache content, allowing for quicker load times and performance.
- SSL encryption: A reverse proxy decrypts incoming client requests and encrypts messages emanating from the server, which places it among the more popular VPN alternatives.
Reverse Proxy vs Load Balancer Difference
As noted above, a reverse proxy can also perform a load-balancing role. However, its primary function is to create separation between the origin servers and clients. It acts as an intermediary, keeping the origin server’s IP address private. Therefore, one of the best proxy servers makes for a valuable cybersecurity tool.
A load balancer, by comparison, distributes client requests among a pool of servers. Its function is more related to improving the speed of service and preventing the servers from overloading. Therefore, it makes it harder to perform a DDoS attack because of the scalability of the system. The load balancer can be extremely useful for websites that are scaling up.
The Main Advantages of Reverse Proxy Server vs Load Balancer
While a load balancer can also act as a reverse proxy, it is primarily designed for traffic management. A reverse proxy is more of a cybersecurity tool, so while both have their uses, the reverse proxy edges ahead of the load balancer.
If you can only afford one or the other, the reverse proxy should be the priority under normal circumstances. However, your preferences might change if you’re seeing a sudden uptake in web traffic or are scaling up operations. A load balancer would be the better option in such cases.
Reverse Proxy vs Load Balancer vs API Gateway
When researching these concepts, API gateway is bound to come up. At first glance, this confuses the issue because it seems like the same thing. However, an API gateway manages access to an Application Programming Interface.
It is therefore designed to control a client’s access to a specific application rather than simply to the website servers. An application gateway may contain elements of a reverse proxy and a load balancer but tends to be more complex than either.
The Summary
Now that you know how proxy vs reverse proxy vs load balancer compare, you can better decide which option is best for you. Both have their uses, but if you need to choose one over the other, the reverse proxy is the more versatile of the two. Also, the reverse proxy is all you need if you only have one server. On the flip side, a load balancer may improve performance across several servers so it is worth considering if you operate multiple servers.
Reverse Proxy vs Load Balancer FAQs
Is a load balancer also a reverse proxy?
It can act as well depending on the developer or manufacturer. Simple load balancer software reroutes traffic. It is not to disguise the origin server’s identity but to lighten its load.
Is AWS load balancer a reverse proxy?
While you can technically use it as such, it only supports fixed IP addresses rather than domain names and so is less effective.
Is API gateway a reverse proxy?
When we compare API gateway vs load balancer vs reverse proxy, we can see that they’re all slightly different. The API gateway can act as a reverse proxy, but it does far more than that. It’s more necessary for larger websites running applications than for your typical site.
Is load balancer a proxy server?
A load balancer is also called a web proxy server, so yes, it is. It allows you to group all applications under one domain so that they all have the same address to external clients.
Do I need both a reverse proxy and a load balancer?
Not necessarily. If we make a reverse proxy vs load balancer comparison, the former is the more useful of the two. It’s helpful even if you use a single server and enhances your protection against malicious players online, improving load times and performance. Some reverse proxies can also act as load balancers.
