Static vs dynamic proxies

You can change your IP address in various ways. When working with social networks, advertising accounts, and other services, specialists often use proxies. But which ones are more effective and where are they useful? We have already written about different types: mobile, server, residential, and others. But we only considered static IP addresses. It's time to compare static and dynamic proxies and analyze the spheres of their application.

What is a proxy

A proxy server is an intermediate server between the user and the target server with a certain IP address. It is a mediator between you and the data on the Internet. It receives a request from the user and sends it to the necessary resource, from where it sends the information back to the user.

When a client rents a proxy server, they use a substitute IP address instead of their own when working on the Internet. We have already explained the mechanism in more detail on our blog.

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According to various estimates, about a third of the 5 billion Internet users worldwide use proxies or similar technologies. According to Atlas VPN data, in 2022, users downloaded the necessary applications for this almost 430 million times. And, judging by the graph, the market will continue to grow:

Why this intermediary is needed:

• Parsing or scraping. Proxies are used to quickly obtain the necessary data from the Internet through special programs and bots. This can include information gathering, analysis, transformation, and export to the desired format, bypassing API and site restrictions.
• Preserving confidentiality. Proxies change the user's real IP address and location. It is harder to track who is making the request. However, changing the IP address is not a guarantee of anonymity. You can still be tracked using a "browser fingerprint," which we wrote about on our blog.
• Bypassing restrictions. Some sites and services are blocked for users from certain countries, such as Netflix. Changing the IP address through a proxy server helps open access. Every month, over 56% of all proxy and VPN users gain access to Netflix (Global Web Index, 2020).
• Increasing speed. Through certain proxies, you can speed up network access. There are two technologies for this: traffic compression (the proxy cuts and optimizes certain content) and caching (so that page copies open faster).
• Blocking access. Some employers control employee traffic and block access to resources (such as social networks) through corporate proxies.
• Enhancing security. Proxies can be used to block access to malicious websites.
• IP ban circumvention, if one of your addresses is restricted, and many other purposes.

Regular users use proxies to access blocked sites and increase anonymity. Therefore, it does not matter to them which proxies to use - it is enough to change the IP address.

In a professional environment, proxies are often needed for parsing, scraping, checking the functionality of services from different countries, multi-accounting, bypassing protective (anti-bot) systems of sites, and so on.

Now let's consider the differences between the operation of static and dynamic proxies. In the first case, you use a permanent IP address, so the service can block it for some reason, for example, in the fight against bots or multi-accounts. In the second case, the IP address changes regularly. Blocking will not cause any harm. Firstly, it takes time, and secondly, you will already have a new IP address.

Static proxies

A static proxy is a proxy with a fixed IP address. It does not change during use. Let's say your real IP address is 192.168.123.132. You rent a proxy, an online proxy server can automatically assign a new IP address, or you can choose one from the available options. Then you get a static IP proxy, for example, 109.211.52.225.

The whole process looks like this:

1. The user enters a URL or clicks on a link. At this moment, a request is sent to connect to the site via an IP address.
2. The proxy server receives the user's request and assigns a substitute IP address instead of the real one.
3. The proxy server forwards the user's request to the desired site through the substitute IP address.
4. The site provides the substitute IP address with the information that the user sees.

A static IP address proxy will be permanent. That is, the same as at the time of purchase. It is better to use it where the risk of blocking is low and speed and stability are important. For example, for managing social media accounts.

Dynamic proxies

Dynamic proxies (or rotating, rotating, routing, etc.) are proxies whose IP addresses are not fixed and change during use.

Dynamic IP addresses are used in different scenarios - they are suitable where the risk of blocking is high. For example, where hundreds or even thousands of requests are planned from one IP address. If the IP is discredited, the server will issue a new one.

With dynamic proxies, the IP address can change for each new request or based on time. For example, every two minutes or five minutes. This means that during a session, your real IP address 192.168.123.132 first changes to 109.211.52.225, and after some time to another, 109.229.85.131, and so on. The IP address can also change automatically upon request, connection update, and other scenarios.

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Here's how it works: you gain access to one node - the Gateway server. The node uses a static address to connect to other proxy servers. Your requests go through the Gateway server and random IP addresses, and only then reach the sites.

But proxies with dynamic IP addresses work slower than static ones. The Gateway server constantly has to assign a new IP address. The IP address pool usually offers low bandwidth. And dynamic IP addresses are often more expensive because the provider needs to obtain and maintain millions of IP addresses.

When to use proxies

Static proxies are best suited for:

• Managing social media accounts. The user is constantly logged in from the same IP address in their account, which does not raise suspicion. If there are multiple accounts, a separate IP address should be used for each.
• Checking advertising in different countries and cities. To see how advertising works in another location, you need to use an IP address in that area that does not constantly change to another.
• Market research, collecting data on company image.
• Online shopping. If a website detects changes in the address, it will block your IP addresses and may even block your account.
• Managing classified ads (ads from individuals on sites like Avito, CIAN).

Dynamic proxies are suitable in the following cases:

• Data parsing, including automating parsing using bots. Each request is assigned a unique IP address, which makes the web server "think" that the requests come from different devices. For example, you can gather price information on similar products from competitors.
• SEO audit. You can obtain information about current SERP results in different geographical locations using bots and proxies. This will improve your future understanding of content strategy.
• Penetration testing. Changing addresses can help you test servers. You can simulate traffic spikes on websites and see how spam or bot protection systems react.
• Data cleansing and aggregation. Aggregators can browse search engines for the best offers on prices, purchases, trips using proxies.
• Increasing anonymity.

Which one to choose: static or dynamic proxies

In practice, proxies also differ in ownership.

• Static proxies are usually owned by hosting providers and cloud servers,
• Dynamic proxies belong to mobile operators.

Why is it important to know this? If a lot of requests come from the IP address of a hosting provider, the site or application server can suspect that this is not an ordinary user and block it. In this case, it will be possible to "cut it off" without harming other people.

Therefore, it is better to use mobile addresses for dynamic proxies. Mobile operators do not have as many IP addresses, each of which is used by hundreds and thousands of users. Services are aware of this, so high load from one IP address does not arouse suspicion. Moreover, in case of blocking, the service will close access to many users who use the same IP - this is another reason not to do this. We have previously written in detail about mobile proxies on our website.

Conclusion

As you can see, different types of proxies are effective for different tasks. Static proxies are suitable for checking advertising, managing accounts, research, purchase and classified management, while dynamic proxies are suitable for data gathering and parsing, SEO tasks, testing, and increasing anonymity. The choice depends solely on your goals.