Glossary · Proxies
Rotating proxy
A rotating proxy is a proxy endpoint that automatically assigns a different exit IP address from a pool to new connections or requests, so one client's traffic is spread across many addresses without the client managing a list.
Reviewed 30 Oct 2026
import requestsproxy = "http://USERNAME_pool-arcfast_country-de:PASSWORD@proxy.arcproxies.io:8000"proxies = {"http": proxy, "https": proxy}for url in ["https://example.com/a", "https://example.com/b"]: # requests.get opens a new connection each call, so each can draw a new exit. # A shared requests.Session() would reuse the connection — and the exit. r = requests.get(url, proxies=proxies, timeout=30) print(url, r.status_code)When the IP actually changes
Rotation happens at one of three points depending on the service: per new connection, per request, or on a timer. ARC's rotating pools draw an exit per new connection when no session handle is set.
That detail matters because HTTP/1.1 keeps connections open by default (RFC 9112). A client that reuses one keep-alive connection can send many requests through the same exit. If every request should leave from a fresh address, open a new connection for each one; if several should share an address, use a sticky session instead of relying on connection reuse.
Rotating vs sticky
| Rotating | Sticky | |
|---|---|---|
| Exit per task | Changes between connections | Held for the minutes you set |
| Good for | Independent page fetches, broad crawls | Logged-out multi-step flows, paginated search |
| Breaks when | A flow carries state across requests | The held exit goes offline before the flow ends |
| Set on ARC by | Omitting _session- | _session-<id>_sesstime-<minutes> |
Choosing between them per job is covered in rotating vs sticky sessions.
What rotation does not do
Rotation spreads load; it does not erase it. RFC 6585 leaves it to each server how it identifies a client and counts requests, so rate limiting can key on cookies, sessions or a search pattern as easily as on an address. Keep request rates reasonable per site and honour Retry-After, as the handling 429 rate limits guide describes.
FAQ
Questions
Something not covered? Write to contact@arcproxies.io.
How often does a rotating proxy change IP?
It depends on the service: per request, per new connection or on a timer. On ARC's rotating pools, each new connection without a session handle can draw a different exit, so a client reusing a keep-alive connection may keep the same one.
Can a rotating proxy give me the same IP twice?
Yes. Each draw comes from a shared pool, so the same address can come up again, especially in a narrowly targeted location. Do not build logic that assumes every request has a unique IP.
Is a rotating proxy the same as a backconnect proxy?
They usually come together but name different things. Backconnect describes the architecture — one gateway in front of many exits — and rotation describes how the gateway assigns those exits. A backconnect gateway can also hold one exit for a sticky session.
Does rotation cost extra on ARC?
No. Rotating and sticky behaviour are tokens in the username on every rotating pool, and billing is per gigabyte of traffic either way.
Sources & review
Last reviewed by the ARC Proxies team. Prices are read from the live catalog at build time.
- [1]IETF: RFC 9112: HTTP/1.1
- [2]IETF: RFC 6585: Additional HTTP Status Codes
In practice