Can someone explain the key differences between a proxy and reverse proxy? or When should you use a p

Kinda oversimplifying, but:
- Proxy: "I don’t want the internet to see *me*."
- Reverse proxy: "I don’t want clients to see *my servers*."

Examples:
- Proxy: Hide your IP while torrenting.
- Reverse proxy: Protect your API backend from direct exposure.

For reverse proxies, [HAProxy](http://www.haproxy.org/) is a beast for high traffic.