Proxy
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
A proxy is a middleman between you and the internet. Instead of talking directly to a website, you talk to the proxy, and the proxy talks to the website for you. It can hide your identity, filter content, or cache responses to make things faster.
Real Talk
A proxy server acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. Proxies can provide anonymity, content filtering, caching, load balancing, and security. The two main types are forward proxies and reverse proxies.
When You'll Hear This
"Route traffic through the proxy to bypass geo-restrictions." / "The proxy server caches static content to reduce origin load."
Related Terms
Forward Proxy
A forward proxy sits in front of clients (users), not servers. It sends requests on behalf of users so the destination can't see who's really asking.
Load Balancer
A load balancer is like a traffic cop for servers.
Nginx
Nginx (pronounced 'engine-x') is a super fast web server and reverse proxy that's been everywhere for 20 years.
Reverse Proxy
A reverse proxy sits in front of your servers and handles incoming traffic on their behalf.
VPN (Virtual Private Network)
A VPN creates an encrypted tunnel from your device to a server somewhere else.