Reverse vs Forward Proxy: What's the Key Difference and When to Use Each? Alternatively, if you prefer a sli

Reverse proxies are low-key OP for microservices. Route traffic to different backends without exposing ports? Yes please.

Forward proxies? Useful, but kinda niche unless you’re into scraping or privacy stuff.

Tools:
- Reverse: Nginx, Traefik, Apache
- Forward: Squid, Privoxy, or just a VPN

Still, the reverse vs forward proxy thing is confusing until you mess with both. Then it clicks.