Some commonly used stuff in DevOps world in simple terms.
A reverse proxy server is a type of server that sits between a client (like a web browser) and a server (like a web server). When a client makes a request for a resource (like a web page), the request goes to the reverse proxy server instead of directly to the web server. The reverse proxy server then forwards the request to the web server, retrieves the resource, and sends it back to the client. The benefit of a reverse proxy server is that it can improve security, performance, and availability of the web server. It can also provide additional features like caching and SSL termination.
A load balancer is a type of server that distributes incoming network traffic across multiple servers. When a client makes a request, the request goes to the load balancer first, which then decides which server should handle the request. The benefit of a load balancer is that it can improve performance and availability by spreading the workload across multiple servers. It can also provide additional features like health checks and session persistence.
An HTTP cache is a type of server that stores copies of web pages and other resources in memory or on disk. When a client requests a resource, the cache checks if it already has a copy of the resource. If it does, the cache can serve the copy to the client instead of requesting it from the web server. This can improve performance and reduce network traffic.
A web server is a type of server that serves web pages and other resources to clients. When a client requests a resource, the web server retrieves the resource and sends it back to the client. Web servers can support various protocols like HTTP, HTTPS, SMTP, POP3, and IMAP, and can provide features like SSL encryption and server-side scripting.