The Differences between Shared and Dedicated Proxies

No one can deny the role that proxies play in data acquisition. Without proxies, you will most likely be left exposed on the internet, leaving you vulnerable to attacks and breaches.

Proxies also help prevent internet restrictions such as internet protocol (IP) bans, CAPTCHA tests, and geo-restrictions.

It, therefore, means without tools like proxies, data extraction will not only be difficult but practically unsafe.

While there are different groups of proxies in the market, we would like to consider the two categories; dedicated and shared proxies.

While dedicated proxies are left to one user per time, shared proxies are often shared by multiple users at once. And they have their advantages and disadvantages as we will see shortly.

What Is A Proxy Server?

Proxies can be defined as sophisticated tools to bridge the gap between users and the internet. They help mediate the connection between internet users and target servers and transfer communication back and forth without revealing the user’s identity.

This is important to keep you protected and anonymous every time you visit any website. The protection is necessary to safeguard you from dubious elements that may want to steal your sensitive data. And anonymity is necessary to prevent getting blocked due to your IP or location.

By making an indirect visit to servers using proxies, you reduce the chance of being seen or banned in a single breath.

There are several types of proxies, but when it comes to the type of IP used, proxies are broadly classified into data center and residential proxies.

According to how the IPs are used, proxies are grouped into dedicated and shared proxies, which is where our focus in this article will lie.

What Is the Importance of Using a High-Quality Proxy Provider?

There are so many reasons why you should use only high-quality proxy providers. While there are several types of proxies in the market, with many of them even claiming to be free, they don’t all function at the same level.

Below are some important reasons why you should use only the quality proxies:

• Automation

One of the best things about proxies is that they help achieve tasks automatically. This means they can get things done with very minimal human input.

This quality is important to save time and energy and guarantee better results. However, only high-quality proxies are consistent with this feature.

• Speed

Aside from automation, speed is another desirable quality that makes proxies one of the best tools in the market. Some proxies can process up to 100Mbps, which can help perform tasks very quickly. This, in turn, saves the business a huge chunk of time to be dedicated to other areas while also reducing the stress placed on the receiving servers when operations are performed too slowly.

But this feature, too, can only be found with high-level proxy providers and not with just any proxy.

• Security

Scraping the internet is an important aspect of business that has no close substitute. Yet, it needs to be done with the highest level of security and protection.

When you jump onto the internet exposed in search of valuable data, someone is lurking around the corner, eager to steal your sensitive data.

The best proxies ensure that this never happens by hiding your identity from everyone, including the targeted servers.

• Versatility and Use of Caches

A solid proxy can scrape just about any website and data type. High-quality proxy providers usually build their tools to adapt well to various website structures and scrape any data without breaking or crashing easily.

Sophisticated proxies can also use and deploy caching mechanisms to make tasks easier and faster.

This mechanism stores information and data from past activities to ensure that subsequent similar requests do not need to reach the target servers. Instead, the data is pulled from the cache and returned to the user.

This saves time and reduces the traffic load on target servers, preventing them from crashing. 

• Scaling and Integration

It is one thing for a proxy to be able to handle the current workload. It is another thing for it to scale to handle more complex activities in the future.

The best proxies have no problem scaling when the time comes to breaking.

High-level proxies are also easy to integrate with other necessary tools and allow you to deploy them along with other software seamlessly.

• Maintenance 

Proxies that are not properly maintained do not serve for a very long time. This is common with low-level and free proxies where there is no provision for regular maintenance.

The best proxies take updates and maintenance very seriously and always take care of these aspects for their subscribers.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Dedicated Proxies?

Dedicated proxies as defined as proxies with IPs and locations allocated to one user at a time. The user does not need to worry about sharing any resources with other users.

This guarantees better speed and security for the network. More importantly, the activities of other users (especially those that may be illegal) will not affect a dedicated user.

Pros:

• It offers a stable IP that can be used to access servers that ban frequent IP changes easily
• It offers unparalleled speed since the user has the entire bandwidth dedicated to himself
• It eliminates the bad-neighbor effect and keeps the user more secured
• They also protect the user against malicious attacks

Cons:

• They are considered to be more expensive
• They may be too much depending on the user’s operations

What Are The Pros and Cons of Shared Proxies?

Conversely, shared proxies are defined as proxies with multiple users on the same server sharing the same IPs and locations.

While they are perfect for simple applications, they can bring a host of problems, including lack of speed and shared insecurity in most cases.

Pros:

• They are perfect for simple operations
• They are cheaper than dedicated proxies
• They offer several servers at once

Cons:

• Shared proxies are not private proxies, and users stand the risk of having their data seen by other users
• They are more susceptible to attacks
• Shared proxies are less reliable and secure
• They are slower than dedicated proxies due to overloaded bandwidth

Conclusion

There are different classifications of proxies, and like there is a difference between data center and residential proxies, there is also a world of difference between dedicated and shared proxies.