GLOSSARY
Datacenter proxy
A datacenter proxy runs on a server in a hosting facility, so its IP address belongs to a hosting or cloud company and not to a home or mobile provider. Providers usually sell many such addresses in blocks.
Why it matters
These proxies are fast, stable and the cheapest to run, which suits speed tests, testing your own services and collecting data from sites that do not mind automated traffic. Their weakness is that the network ranges are public knowledge. Sites that filter server traffic can identify and block them quickly, and addresses shared by many customers can carry a bad reputation.
In practice
Check an address against the hosting networks that databases list, which is exactly what the VPN detector does. A datacenter label is not bad in itself: it tells you what to expect. If the target site rejects it, you need a different address type, but first check whether the address is on a blacklist, because that is sometimes the real cause.
Related terms
- Residential proxy: A residential proxy sends your traffic through an IP address that a home internet provider assigned to a household.
- ASN: An ASN is a unique number assigned to a network that manages its own routing on the internet, such as an internet provider, a cloud company, a university or a large business.
- DNSBL: A DNSBL is a list of IP addresses, published through the DNS system, that an operator has marked as sources of spam or abuse.
- Rotating proxy: A rotating proxy gives you a different IP address from a pool, either on every request or at set intervals, while you keep using the same connection details.