Proxy server use has become commonplace as more businesses and individuals explore the benefits of the internet. Proxies have become central to data mining, data protection, and privacy enhancement online. A proxy server is an internet tool that acts as an intermediary between the computer's browser and the internet.
When a proxy is in place, it routes all information coming in and out of a web browser application through its servers. This action hides the IP address of the computer sending or receiving the information.
Since every internet-enabled computing device is identified via its IP address, proxy servers can effectively keep IP addresses hidden from any prying eyes. There are two main of proxy servers out there, the data center and the residential proxy, also known as static proxy.
Types of proxy servers
Data center proxies are the most common types of proxies. They are affordable, easily accessible and often faster than residential proxies. Dedicated data center proxies offer extremely high speeds when in use, ensuring that all proxy related services are accomplished fast and efficiently.
These proxies, however, do not have valid IP addresses. Data center proxies are provided by third-party cloud-hosted providers and not internet service providers. In the place of a genuine unique identifier, these proxies use a combination of numbers to mimic an IP address.
Consequently, any keen eye trying to filter out bot activity from their website will easily identify the activity of a data center proxy. Such proxies are ill-fitted to certain proxy related activities such as data scraping.
Residential proxies, on the other hand, are provided by ISPs. They offer genuine IP addresses for activities such as web scraping. A proxy ISP will charge a premium for these proxies because they are not easily accessible. They are nevertheless more stable and in some instances offer better data protection than some data center proxies.
The proxy ISP can offer rotating residential IPs to prevent detection when web scraping. They can also offer premium static residential proxies, proficient at proxy related activities that mimic the behavior of an everyday internet user.
How static IPs give you the best of both worlds
While static IPs are not the perfect proxy solution (there is no perfect proxy solution), they have their advantages over dynamic or rotating proxies. The Proxy ISP that provides them gives your business access to genuine IP addresses, which offer undisputed IP address privacy.
Residential proxies are also the most stable of proxy servers, compared to data center proxies. Nevertheless, as good as residential proxies are, they are rare compared to the endless data center proxies out there. Consequently, most Proxy ISP providers swap the residential IP addresses in use automatically not just for the user's benefit but because of the residential proxy’s sourcing process.
A proxy ISP provider generally acquires their residential proxy pools by leasing them from different users globally with high-speed internet connections. Other providers will create multiple accounts with ISPs to acquire a pool of residential proxies.
The process of acquiring diverse residential proxies is, therefore, labor-intensive and expensive at the same time. To access larger pools of ISPs, some Proxy ISP firms have innovative measures that utilize the residential IP addresses of their users within a P2P network.
You will, therefore, find that proxies ISPs with large pools of residential IPs source them from residential computers. These businesses have minimal control over the access of the IP address since they are only accessible when a residential computer is on.
The ISP will therefore not promise a static residential IP. The best most businesses can do, is offer sticky sessions where a residential IP is rotated at pre-designed intervals. Sticky sessions residential IPs are perfect for a variety of proxy uses such as access to geo-restricted content or limited sneaker editions and e-commerce transactions.
A static residential proxy offers unlimited use of a single IP address just as data center proxies do, making them faster than other residential proxies.
Pros of static residential proxies
- They are just as fast as dedicated data center geonode proxies are. You can use them to gather intelligence data such as brand abuse and ad verification fast.
- Static residential proxies are provided by a proxy ISP so they are more secure and legitimate than data center proxies.
- They are very stable proxies and can promise up to 99.9% uptime since they are not shared.
- Their IP address will not change and so will not interrupt your connection.
- Their configuration process takes place once so they are easy to set up and maintain.
Cons of static proxies
- They are more expensive than other proxies.
- They are not easily accessible.
Conclusion
Static IPs will give your online activity a consistent identity over long periods. Since they will not rotate as normal residential IPs do, you can use static IPs to grow to access various services. Static proxies, therefore, provide the best of both worlds.