What Is a Rotating IP address?
Daniel Tarasov
Daniel Tarasov Published: 2024/04/30

You may have already come across the “rotating IP address” term and asked yourself what it means. In this article, we will answer this and other crucial questions about how rotating IP addresses function.

What is an IP Address Rotation?

We must review some other fundamentals regarding proxy servers in order to comprehend rotational principles more fully. Proxy servers, in general, serve as the gate that conceals your IP address and substitutes it with a new one. In turn, the IP address can be thought of as the unique code that uniquely identifies your device on the internet. 

Rotation of IP addresses is the process of altering IPs that are used as end-point. This way, your IP address can automatically change itself to a new one over some period of time or after a certain number of requests.

In the same manner, the ISP rotation system. If users disconnect from the internet, the ISP will return their address in the pool. This way, ISPs control the number of active IPs in disposal and assigns a new one.

Why Should You Consider IP Rotation?

IP rotation is an essential tool for data harvesting or crawling related tasks. With a regular datacenter proxy connection, you can send lots of look-alike requests from one IP address. So, targeted sites can easily track, flag, access, and ban your activity. 

Rotation can help to avoid any of these problems by constantly changing IP addresses in the pool. This way, whenever you reach the site limit for requests, you can swap IPs and scrape data for as long as you want. Overall, this is a great way to increase your success rate.

What is Proxy Rotation?

Proxy rotation refers to the act of spreading your traffic across several unique IP addresses. This method is crucial for web crawling and data harvesting tasks. Rotating IP proxy lets you preserve your anonymity and circumvent the majority of anti-bot software that targeted websites use. This is particularly crucial if you’re interested in creating an extra stable and reliable project.

From a technical point of view, a proxy server controls the pool of IP addresses and constantly changes them based on different rules. For example, you can setup rotation over periods of time or when the IP address will reach a certain limit of requests. This method is perfect for large-scale data harvesting projects or when you need to scrape data from one source over a long period of time. At the same time, rotation can help with SEO tasks when you need to simulate search activity from different regions. 

Methods Used to Rotate IP Addresses

Rotation of the IP may be performed using multiple methods. First of all, it’s possible to rotate over predetermined periods of time. After a certain number of days, it is automatically changed to a new one. We refer to this kind of rotation as pre-configured.

Another type is called random IP rotation. Using this approach, you can use a new random IP address for every connection you have to the internet. In this scenario, you will not be able to change the IP address that was given to you at the time. The following kind is known as a particular rotation. In this scenario, every connection you have open will have an IP address that you can select.

In the final kind, known as burst rotation, you will receive a new address following a predetermined number of connections. For instance, your IP address will automatically change to a new one after five connections.

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Rotating IPs With Proxy Servers

You can begin using rotating proxy servers in a few different ways. The easiest way to proceed is, for the most part, to locate a proxy provider with an already-built rotation function. In this manner, you’ll be able to begin employing a datacenter rotating proxy with no additional configuration needed right away. 

You may also manage IPs and create your own proxy server rotating IP tool. For example, you can buy several regular residential proxy servers and use special extensions or third-party apps that will help you rotate these servers in accordance with your specific preferences.

Another way to rotate proxies lies in utilizing tools like Python with Request libraries. This way, you can tailor all of the parameters and implement code in your other projects.

What are Rotating Proxies Used For?

The main and most popular use case for rotating IPs is data harvesting. This option allow your scraper to avoid most of the existing blocking and flagging risks. So, you can scrape any amount of data you want and increase your success rates.

However, rotating proxy also has a lot of other use cases. For example, you can utilize this type of server for SEO tasks that involve checking keyword rankings in different locations. With rotating proxies, you can do this without any additional setup. 

More than this, rotation is useful for data inelegence when companies scrape sites for analytics data. Businesses can also track prices on different products across several markets with a rotation. Data triangulation businesses can validate information with this tool. In basic terms, you can use rotation to overcome possible request limits and avoid any geo-restictions.

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What is a Rotating Proxy?

A rotating proxy server can be described as the proxy server that automatically and consistently changes the IP address for your new connections. This function is primarily used to build strong protection for your real IP address. In some cases, you can manage the parameters of the rotation to achieve the best results.

With regular static proxies, you will have only one IP address for all of your sessions. This means, server will send all of the requests to the targeted site through the single IP that you have. If this IP address gets blocked, you will need to manually change your server to a new one.

Rotating proxies, on the other hand, will keep changing addresses as long as you need and every time you make a new request. This way, rotating proxies add a new layer of protection to your online connections. Rotating proxies tend to be more expensive than other options, but in exchange, you can get unique functions that will improve your security and anonymity online.

The Main Rotating Proxy IP Types

Just like with regular proxies, you have three main options to choose from – datacneter, residential, and mobile rotating servers. Let’s take a quick look at each type.

Datacenter server options, as the name states, are based on the datacenter infrastructure. This means, you can get the best speed and response time indicators. Plus, the regular problem of regular and fast bans is not so sufficient with the rotation option enabled. If any of your IP addresses are blocked, the server will automatically change this address to a new one.

Residential proxies come from regular users, and IP addresses for these servers are assigned by the ISPs. This server will be useful when you need to perform sensitive IP tasks or target a specific location. They tend to be more expensive than datacenter ones, but they also offer unique features that can cover the cost question.

Mobile proxies are similar to the residential ones. You can get access to the IPs that belong to mobile devices. This server will be a good option for specific tasks that require you to use only mobile IPs. For example, you can perform testing, use power automation tools, and explore other tasks.

What is a Datacenter Rotating Proxy?

As said before, the main characteristic of any datacenter proxies is that they are not affiliated with any ISPs. This both brings troubles and advantages. Instead of the ISPs, datacenters gain their IPs from web providers like Amazon Web Services. Because of this, datacenter IPs are not related to any specific location or address. 

Websites can easily track this addresses and ban them. This is where rotation can show its power. With this function, server can automatically change your IP address for each new connection. In other words, even if some of your addresses are banned, you will be able to continue working without stopping.

Plus, you can enjoy all of the other benefits of datacenter IPs, like constant uptime and outstanding speed. This way, any scraping task can be performed without interruption and with a high success rate.

What is a Residential Rotating Proxy?

With residential proxies, you get the real IP address that correlates with your physical location, like a household. These addresses are assigned by the ISPs and look completely legit and clean in the eyes of websites and antybot systems. 

Rotating residential proxies can also increase your anonymity by using different user agents. This way, you can scrape even the most protected sites with advanced anti-bot systems. 

Residential proxies also have lots of benefits for specific tasks that require geo-targeting or a more detailed approach. For example, this functions can be used for purchasing limited run items, account management, ad verification or other tasks.

Conclusion

Now that you know all about rotating IP, you can truly appreciate all of the benefits this technology brings to data harvesting, parsing, marketing,and other spheres. Rotating proxies can be an excellent tool that will greatly simplify your work if you are looking to complete any of these tasks. As an alternative, if you must maintain a single IP address for an extended period of time, consider using a static residential proxy.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Please read our Documentation if you have questions that are not listed below.

  • How does IP rotation work?

    IP rotation works by constantly changing your IP address from a premade pool of addresses. Rotation can be performed based on special rules.

  • What kind of proxy server is best to use with rotation?

    Rotation can be used with almost any proxy server type available. You need to select a server primarily based on the specifications of your project and the software that you are going to use with it.

  • What kind of proxy server can use rotation?

    You can use rotation with almost any proxy server type available. Overall, it is best to choose servers for rotation based on your software.

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