Reverse proxy fundamentals

What is a reverse proxy #

A reverse proxy is a server that acts as an intermediary, sitting in front of one or more web servers to intercept user requests before they reach their intended destination. It then routes these requests to the appropriate backend server and returns the server’s response to the user.

A reverse proxy configuration is a required step for working with Vpage.

Why a reverse proxy matters for Vpage #

A reverse proxy is a crucial technical component for Vpage, as it allows pages to appear on your domain name. This is essential for two key reasons:

Trust and authority: By keeping the user on your trusted domain, you benefit from its established authority and brand recognition. This can improve user confidence and potentially boost your search engine ranking.
Seamless user experience: The user’s journey is uninterrupted, as they stay on a familiar URL, creating a smoother and more professional experience.

Basic reverse proxy principle for Verbolia #

A URL pattern must be defined to identify which requests should be routed to Verbolia.

Example:

Requests matching: https://www.client.com/path_to_verbolia/* are forwarded to: https://client.backend.verbolia.com/path_to_verbolia/*

All requests matching this pattern are handled by Verbolia, while the rest of the website continues to be served normally by the customer’s infrastructure.

Request flow overview #

A typical request follows this flow:

End user → Customer reverse proxy → Verbolia backend → Correct instance response

A user requests a URL on the customer’s domain (e.g. https://www.client.com/path_to_verbolia/keyword).
The reverse proxy detects that the request matches a predefined path or rule.
The reverse proxy forwards the request to a Verbolia backend URL.
Verbolia processes the request and serves the page corresponding to the correct instance (language, country, subdirectory).

The response is returned to the user under the customer’s domain.

Key concepts to understand #

Domain : The public domain used by the customer (e.g. www.client.com).
Path : The URL path used to expose Verbolia pages, typically including language, country, or subdirectory elements (e.g. /en/us/v/).
Backend URL : The Verbolia backend endpoint to which traffic is forwarded (e.g. client-enus.backend.verbolia.com (standalone backend URL) or client.backend.verbolia.com (master backend URL)).
HTTP headers : Additional information forwarded by the reverse proxy to Verbolia. Some headers (such as X-Forwarded-Host) are required in the setup and are detailed later in this documentation.

Standalone backend vs. master backend #

When configuring a reverse proxy for Verbolia, there are two possible backend routing models: standalone backend and master backend.

Standalone backend

The reverse proxy routes traffic directly to each instance’s backend URL. When using a standalone backend, the reverse proxy must be configured for each instance separately.

This means:

For every new instance, the customer must set up a new reverse proxy.
Each reverse proxy points to the specific backend URL (one per instance).
Any new instance requires a new reverse proxy configuration.

Master backend (recommended)

The reverse proxy routes traffic to one master backend URL. The master backend then automatically forwards each request to the correct instance backend.