CompTIA Cloud+ Practice Test

Which function is commonly associated with a reverse proxy?

1. Content filtering

2. Load balancing

3. Data loss prevention

4. Issuing digital certificates

The correct answer is: Load balancing

The function commonly associated with a reverse proxy is load balancing. A reverse proxy sits in front of one or more web servers and acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from those servers. By distributing client requests across multiple servers, the reverse proxy helps to balance the load, preventing any single server from being overwhelmed. This distribution not only improves performance by optimizing resource usage but also enhances redundancy and reliability since it can route traffic to available servers in the event of a failure. While content filtering and data loss prevention are important security functions, they are not primary purposes of a reverse proxy. Content filtering generally relates to blocking or allowing specific content based on predetermined policies, and data loss prevention focuses on safeguarding sensitive information from being transmitted unauthorizedly. Issuing digital certificates is typically managed by a certificate authority and relates more to SSL/TLS implementations rather than the functionalities of a reverse proxy. The primary objective of a reverse proxy, particularly in web environments, is indeed to facilitate load balancing among server resources.