How to setup a forward proxy and a reverse proxy on the same server using Apache HTTPD

Question

I have an application that acts as both a HTTP server as well as a HTTP client. For security reasons, the application runs on a server on a protected/internal network. I would like to setup a HTTP proxy that acts as an external interface for external parties to access the application.

For external HTTP clients to access my application, I would like to have a reverse proxy to handle such scenarios.

For HTTP request from my application to external parties, I would like to have a forward proxy to ensure my proper external URL's are sent to the external parties.

Question: Can Apache HTTPD proxy be configured to run a both a forward proxy and reverse proxy at the same time?

Answer 1

The short answer (from my reading of the docs) is No.

The forward proxy is activated using the ProxyRequests directive

A reverse proxy is activated using the ProxyPass directive. The reverse proxy docs state

The ProxyRequests directive should usually be set off when using ProxyPass.

I think if you enable both on the same server, there will be a possible clash in your Allow, Deny settings for IPs etc