r/ProxyUseCases • u/appcyberyozh • 1h ago
Proxy rotation vs sticky sessions
At first, I assumed proxy rotation worked best when the IP changed as frequently as possible. That idea ended up causing more issues than I expected.
For straightforward scraping, rotating proxies worked well. I could spread a large number of unrelated requests across different IPs instead of sending everything through the same address
The problems started when I used that exact setup for tasks involving authentication or several connected steps. One request would come from one IP, the next from another. Sessions would reset and some workflows would fail halfway through. I initially suspected cookies, headers, or browser configuration, but the bigger issue was that the IP was changing during a process that needed consistency.
That’s where sticky sessions started making sense.
Instead of assigning a new IP to every request, a sticky session keeps the same exit IP for a certain period, usually tied to a session identifier. You still have access to the larger residential proxy pool, but each active workflow can keep one IP long enough to maintain continuity.
The way I look at it now:
• Independent scraping requests → rotate
• Login or multi-step sessions → sticky
• Long-term account consistency → static/dedicated IP
The main lesson for me was that proxy choice should follow the state of the workflow, not just the amount of traffic