Reverse Proxy vs F5 LTM

The BIG-IP F5 is a full-proxy when deployed with a typical setup, client-side / server-side ssl certificates. Full proxy breaks down the SSL connection for inspection, rebundles it, and sends it to the requested server. Forward proxy would be one most people come in contact with without knowing otherwise. Reverse proxies are usually before the web application or server you are trying to reach, think of a WAF (web application firewall) that acts on behalf of the internal network for the destination web application, protecting the internal network from unauthenticated incoming requests.

TCP connection established in a full-proxy are two separate sessions. One between the BIGIP F5 client side, the other from the F5 to the internal network. Reverse proxy maintains a session between the proxy and the application server, while handling outside requests in an AAA method.