Proxies are used for web scraping as you all know. But which proxies to use for which use case is sometimes challenging. To clear your doubts, I will explain what datacenter proxies are and how they can help you extract data from the web.
What are Datacenter proxies?
Datacenter proxies act as intermediators between your computer and the web address you are visiting. While doing so, the datacenter proxies change your original IP address so you could browse anonymously.
By choosing a datacenter proxy for a specific location, you appear as if you are residing in that location. This helps you access geo-restricted websites and scrape the data you need efficiently.
Datacenter proxy is held in cloud hosting companies which is a major differentiation compared to residential proxies. Residential proxies are real device IPs. This is one of the reasons why a datacenter proxy is faster and cheaper than residential proxies.
One of the major concerns with datacenter proxies is the rotation. You get a list of proxies, so you have to manually rotate the proxies by using any tool.
Types of Datacenter proxies
Datacenter proxies are broadly classified as Shared proxies and Dedicated proxies. Dedicated proxies are also called private proxies.
Shared Proxies: These are certainly used by many users for performing scraping tasks. Due to many people using it at the same time, you will often experience slower speed and downtime. You cannot take a bet on shared proxies as they might get blocked on popular websites. Too many people using the same IP results in IP blocks due to spamming.
Dedicated Proxies: Also known as private proxies, these are used and controlled by one person. Dedicated datacenter proxies are faster than shared proxies and have an added advantage over other shared proxies. You can use Dedicated proxies for specific tasks such as copping sneakers or social media management.
Main Reasons To Choose Datacenter Proxies
Why should you choose datacenter proxy when you have cheap shared proxies?
I am highlighting a few reasons to choose datacenter proxies that are worth considering.
- Dedicated Datacenter proxies might not be as cheap as shared proxies but they are still affordable. You only have to pay for proxy usage and not bandwidth. Datacenter proxies are cheaper than residential & mobile proxies and therefore make it a favorable choice for starters.
- It’s easy to rent IPs and host them on servers rather than buying real device IPs. This is one of the reasons why datacenter proxies are cheaper than residential proxies.
- As we know the IPs belong to cloud hosting servers, you can expect nothing less than rocket speed. You can expect a minimum of 1 Gbps ranging up to 10 Gbps. The success rate and network uptime are usually 99%.
- Datacenter proxies used to be in a list form but nowadays you can get rotating datacenter proxies. Proxy providers like Smartproxy and Bright Data are the top companies to offer such proxies.
- Accessing geo-restricted websites is a big concern. Some might think of using a VPN but then there are IP limitations. Proxies can help you scrape a geo-restricted website limitlessly with multiple IP selections.
- You can buy the latest sneaker arrivals but sometimes datacenter proxies can fail to perform on high authority sites. The decision lies up to you to either look for clean datacenter IPs or switch to other proxies.
Pros and Cons
PROS 👍
- Up to 10 Gbps speed
- Ensures 99% uptime
- Cost-effective
CONS 👎
- Can be detected easily
- If a subnet is banned, all IPs inside the subnet get banned.
How To Choose a Datacenter Proxy Server?
I have done the hard work for you so you don’t have to waste your time contemplating the best datacenter proxy servers. Listed below are the top datacenter proxies but you can also check out the complete list of datacenter proxy servers.
1. Netnut – 7-day free trial
2. Smartproxy – Free browser extension
3. Bright Data – Large pool of datacenter IPs
Conclusion
In this guide, I covered what a datacenter proxy is and its advantages. If you have a good budget, I recommend using residential or mobile proxies as they are more secure.
FAQs
Datacenter vs residential: Which is better?
Datacenter proxies are rented from cloud hosting companies that offer fast connection and network uptime. Residential proxies on the other hand are real device IPs that offer high security.
Which is pricier: Datacenter or residential?
Residential proxies are much pricier compared to datacenter as they are more secure and cannot be detected easily.