There is such a misconception: if you can get data from a hundred web pages a day, then you can get a million pages, you just need to increase the capacity. But the reality is that it’s easy to get some data from the Internet, and there are a lot of solutions that will help with this. But it is quite another matter to regularly obtain a large amount of data, this is a difficult task, since many aspects must be taken into account. Below we will talk about them in general and about backconnect rotating proxies in particular.

Amount of information and its location

There are different types of proxy servers and the choice depends on what and where you need to collect information. A proxy is a computer that is located between the visitor and the site. It acts as a gateway between the local network and the Internet. A proxy intercepts connection between a sender and a receiver. All incoming data enters through one port and is forwarded to the network through another.

In addition to forwarding traffic, proxies provide security by hiding the actual IP of the server from which data is being requested. The proxy server can encrypt the data so it’s not readable in transit and block or allow access to pages of the site based on IP.

Server, residential and mobile proxies are addresses that replace the user’s IP “in the eyes” of sites and servers. It’s possible to use all these types of proxies to anonymously browse and change the desired location. But types of proxies differ — in price, features or performance (price order — on the example of Privateproxy). So, what proxy should you choose if you need to parse data on a large scale and regularly?

• Server proxies — fast and affordable

These are IPs hosted on infrastructure owned by data center operators. They are:

• Public — free, but useless for a large-scale data collection project, such addresses are blocked quite quickly due to the fact that many users use them.
• General — used by several users at the same time. The best option for parsing tasks.
• Private — addresses with sole ownership during the lease term.
• Dedicated — addresses with acquired usage rights from a data center provider or with actual infrastructure ownership.

Benefits of server proxies

• Fast and stable — hosted on enterprise-grade infrastructure, high uptime (99.9% or more) with high throughput.
• Affordability — shared proxies can be bought for a few dollars.
• Unlimited bandwidth — sellers charge by IP address, not by data volume.

Disadvantages of server proxies

• Few locations — it’s hard to find a data center company that can provide wide coverage around the world.
• Ease of detection — target sites will see that you are using a proxy, even if it’s otherwise completely anonymous.
• Inconvenience in use — the supplier provides a list with unique IPs of all purchased nodes in a text file.

• Residential proxies are better, but more expensive

Residential (home) proxies are IPs borrowed from real users: from laptops, phones and other gadgets connected to Wi-Fi. This greatly complicates their detection by target sites, as the parser who visits the page looks like a real user, and such proxies support a wider choice of locations and more precise targeting parameters.

Difference Between Residential Proxy and VPN

A proxy directs traffic through intermediate devices. A VPN service performs a similar role, but also encrypts the data in transit. This solution is safer, but there are problems.

Residential proxies are the best choice for those who want to fulfill thousands of requests as they are cheaper and faster than VPNs in the long run and at scale. A VPN is the best choice for personal use, protection from hackers, and prevention of ISP tracking.

Rotary residential proxies

Rotating residential proxies (backconnect) give a new IP from the pool every time a new connection is established. For example, if you run a script to retrieve content from a thousand pages, those connections are sent from a thousand different devices. This type of proxy is difficult to trace and almost impossible to block.

Benefits of residential proxies

• High anonymity — sites make it possible to work even if the user performs suspicious actions like bots.
• Large address pool — providers have millions of IPs; you can make many requests without repeating.
• Many locations — there are dominant countries that take a large share, but you can find proxies in the exotic places.
• Subnet variety — private IPs rarely share a single subnet and don’t have to worry about accidentally blocking multiple addresses at once.
• Simplicity — residential proxies use internal servers with a reverse connection. You get an address that looks like a URL, it connects you and the server chooses an IP address from the provider’s proxy pool. After some time, this IP address will change, but your server IP will remain the same. This is very handy for parsing.
• IP rotation — reverse connection servers also allow you to automatically change addresses. You can select the switching frequency, and the provider will switch IPs at the desired frequency.

Disadvantages of residential proxies

• They are slower than server ones — because they add one more element to the connection chain, which is the end point (the actual computer or other device).
• Connection instability — the end user can disconnect at any time and your connection will be lost.
• Shared IP addresses only — back connected servers give users access to the same pool, so you have to share IPs with others.
• They are more expensive — because they are more difficult to obtain and maintain than server proxies. They have a different pricing model: you are charged for the amount of traffic, not for an individual address.

In terms of numbers, Privateproxy offers datacenter rotating starting at $59 per month and residential rotating starting at $150.

Where and what proxies to use?

In practice, residential proxies are better at collecting data from sites with stricter rules against bots and tasks that require location-specific IPs. Use these proxies on large retailers, aggregators where data access is more difficult and content may be dynamic based on location, or to verify advertising campaigns.