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Is a reverse proxy necessary to access remote services when I already use a vpn? (alien.top)

submitted 1 year ago by Rafa130397@alien.top to c/homelab@selfhosted.forum

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Hey! Sorry for the repeating question, I have a very specific question though.

For context, I access my services using a vpn, and that's been great. However, I've been a lot of people mentioning reverse proxies. Are they necessary or more of a convenience thing? I ask because I don't see something that I cannot do with my current vpn setup.

Thanks!

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[–] Psychological_Try559@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

TL;DR: Probably not, but you may find it useful for other reasons.

Full thoughts: VPNs and Reverse Proxies are different things, a Reverse Proxy doesn't replace a VPN but can supplement it.

VPN connects you to a network that you're not physically on, encrypting your traffic along the way. Once traffic hits the network, the VON has done it's job. Think of it as a limo. You can't tell what's inside but it gets you there safely.

A Reverse Proxy has no effect on traffic until it's at your network. It's like a directory listing in a shared building, you can have 10 offices in a building with 1 door but you need a way to get to the offices once you go through the main door.

So what does that have to do with security? Well, first of all a reverse proxy is specifically designed to be internet facing, not every other webservice is...so things like malformed HTTP traffic will be dropped before it gets to the web service you're running. Reverse Proxies also handle redirects, HTTPS (some webservices can handle TLS but it's often put off to the proxy), and plenty of other features. Of course a VPN has all that same security (being designed to be webfacing).