The Art of IP Rotation for Web Scraping

Why IP Rotation Matters

IP rotation is critical for:

• Avoiding rate limits
• Preventing IP bans
• Distributing load
• Maintaining anonymity

Types of Proxies

Datacenter Proxies

• Fast and cheap
• Easily detected
• Good for non-protected sites

Residential Proxies

• Real user IPs
• Harder to detect
• More expensive
• Better for protected sites

Mobile Proxies

• Highest trust level
• Most expensive
• Best for social media

Rotation Strategies

Round Robin

class ProxyRotator {
  private proxies: string[];
  private index = 0;
  
  next(): string {
    const proxy = this.proxies[this.index];
    this.index = (this.index + 1) % this.proxies.length;
    return proxy;
  }
}

Weighted Selection

Prioritize successful proxies:

class WeightedRotator {
  selectProxy(): string {
    const weights = this.proxies.map(p => p.successRate);
    // Select based on weights
  }
}

Monitoring and Maintenance

Track these metrics:

• Success rate per proxy
• Response time
• Block rate
• Geographic distribution

Conclusion

Effective IP rotation requires a mix of proxy types, smart rotation logic, and continuous monitoring.