Reverse Proxy Patterns: Architectures for Scalable Web Applications
Reverse proxies are a foundational component of modern web infrastructure. They sit in front of backend services and handle requests on their behalf, improving performance, security, and scalability.
What is a reverse proxy?
A reverse proxy is a server that receives client requests and forwards them to one or more backend servers. Unlike a forward proxy, which represents the client, a reverse proxy represents the server.
Common reverse proxy solutions include Nginx, HAProxy, Traefik, Envoy, and managed cloud services such as Cloudflare or AWS Application Load Balancer.
1. Load balancing pattern
The load balancing pattern distributes incoming traffic across multiple backend servers to ensure high availability and even resource usage.
- Improves scalability and fault tolerance
- Supports round-robin, least-connections, and hash-based strategies
- Commonly used in high-traffic applications
2. SSL termination pattern
With SSL termination, the reverse proxy handles HTTPS encryption and forwards plain HTTP traffic to internal services.
- Simplifies certificate management
- Reduces CPU usage on backend servers
- Centralizes security configuration
3. Caching reverse proxy
A caching proxy stores responses and serves them directly for subsequent requests, reducing latency and backend load.
- Ideal for read-heavy endpoints
- Works well with static content and APIs
- Requires cache-control and invalidation strategies
4. API gateway pattern
When acting as an API gateway, the reverse proxy becomes the single entry point for multiple backend services.
- Routes requests to microservices
- Handles authentication and rate limiting
- Improves observability and security
5. Edge proxy pattern
Edge proxies run close to users, often globally distributed through CDNs. They reduce latency and block malicious traffic early.
- Low-latency global delivery
- DDoS and WAF integration
- Ideal for modern edge and serverless apps
How to choose the right pattern
- Load balancing for scalability and uptime
- SSL termination for simpler security management
- Caching for performance-critical content
- API gateway for microservice architectures
- Edge proxies for global user bases
Most real-world systems combine multiple reverse proxy patterns to build reliable, secure, and high-performance platforms.
