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Data is the gold of the 21st century, and having the right tools to collect and share it is critical to scaling your business.
Whether it’s information collection (such as scraping) or information sharing (such as mass posting, botting, or profile boosting), proxies play a critical role in increasing efficiency and scale.
Proxies as a Scaling Tool
Proxies act as intermediaries in the data transfer process. The more proxies used between your server and the server from or to which data is being transferred, the faster the process. This is because proxy servers spread the load, significantly increasing speed and performance, making them a true scalability tool.
By using multiple proxies, you can increase data transfer speeds, handle higher traffic volumes, and ensure more efficient data handling, making proxies an essential tool for scaling business operations.
Static and Rotating Proxies: What’s the Difference
Depending on the task at hand, choosing the right tool is crucial. Let’s define the difference between rotating and static proxy servers.
Static Proxies
Static proxies provide a fixed IP address that remains the same throughout a session. They are ideal for tasks that require a consistent identity, such as managing social media accounts or accessing geo-restricted content. Their key characteristics include reliability, stability, and ease of tracking.
Static proxies are most often data center proxies. Thanks to the powerful equipment in data centers, these proxies rarely go offline, which usually guarantees a stable connection and data transfer without interruptions or losses. To learn more about all the nuances of how static proxies work, we recommend reading this article: What are Static Proxies?
Rotating Proxies
Rotating proxies automatically change IP addresses at regular intervals or after each request. They are perfect for tasks that require multiple IP addresses, such as web scraping, data mining, or rate limit bypassing. Their main features include high anonymity, reduced risk of bans, and the ability to handle large-scale data extraction.
Rotating proxies can have different origins and operate on different types of devices. They can be data center proxies as well as static proxies. They can also be residential proxies, running on home devices (PCs, tablets, smartphones) of ordinary people in different parts of the world. There are also mobile proxies, which are hosted on mobile farms. To learn more about all the nuances of how rotating proxies work, we recommend reading the article: What are Rotating Proxies?
Key Rules for Choosing Proxy Types
In summary, all of the above can be boiled down to a set of key rules.
You need rotating proxies if:
- Fast, multi-threaded data collection from an external source is required
- The external source has mechanisms to prevent automated access (e.g., uses CAPTCHA)
- You need to bypass rate limits imposed on a single IP address
- You need to gather data from different geographical regions to avoid blocks and filters
You need static proxies if:
- A constant IP address is required for accessing resources that need stable authentication, such as social networks
- You need to maintain a stable connection for online banking or eBay accounts
- Continuous session maintenance is necessary for tasks like managing ad campaigns or analytics
- You need to ensure reliable operation with corporate applications that require a constant IP address for security and access
Combining Different Types of Proxies
In reality, companies often need to use both types of proxies. In general, it is better to use rotating proxies to collect information and aggregate it into your database and website. By constantly changing IP addresses, information can be collected from the source in a multi-threaded mode. A single server that routes incoming and outgoing requests to an external source (e.g. Amazon.com) through a pool of rotating, constantly changing proxies is sufficient to avoid slowing down or interrupting the flow of information. The main load is carried by the rotating proxy servers. If some of the IP addresses of the rotating proxies get banned, they can easily be replaced with other proxies. Any serious proxy provider will have tens or even hundreds of thousands of proxy servers in its pool, ensuring the continuity of data streams.
On the other hand, if there is a need to constantly send data to an external source, proxies with a fixed, unchanging IP address are the best choice. This is especially important in cases where a login with a username and password is required on the target site. Typical examples of situations where a static IP is required include posting to social networking sites (account growth and management) or logging into online banking or eBay accounts. If you try to access these sources with changing IP addresses, your account will inevitably be blocked for security reasons.
