Rotating Proxies: What They Are and How to Use Them

If you have ever tried scraping a website and found your IP banned after a few requests, you already understand why proxy rotation matters. Rotating proxies automatically assign a different IP address to each request (or group of requests), making it nearly impossible for target sites to block you based on IP alone.

Rotating vs Sticky Sessions

Proxy providers typically offer two session types:

• Rotating sessions: Every request gets a new IP address. Ideal for scraping search results, product listings, or any use case where each request is independent.
• Sticky sessions: The same IP is maintained for a configured duration (usually 1-30 minutes). Essential for multi-step workflows like logging in, adding items to a cart, or navigating paginated results within a session.

Configuring PulseNet Rotating Proxies

PulseNet makes it easy to switch between rotating and sticky sessions using the proxy username format. Here is how to configure both in Python:

import requests

# Rotating session — new IP per request
rotating_proxy = "http://user-rotate:pass@gate.pulsenet.io:8080"

for i in range(5):
    r = requests.get(
        "https://httpbin.org/ip",
        proxies={"http": rotating_proxy, "https": rotating_proxy},
        timeout=10,
    )
    print(f"Request {i+1}: {r.json()['origin']}")
# Each request shows a different IP

# Sticky session — same IP for 10 minutes
sticky_proxy = "http://user-sticky-10m:pass@gate.pulsenet.io:8080"

session = requests.Session()
session.proxies = {"http": sticky_proxy, "https": sticky_proxy}

# These requests all use the same IP
for i in range(5):
    r = session.get("https://httpbin.org/ip", timeout=10)
    print(f"Request {i+1}: {r.json()['origin']}")
# All requests show the same IP

In Node.js, the same configuration works with any HTTP client:

import axios from "axios";
import { HttpsProxyAgent } from "https-proxy-agent";

// Rotating proxy
const agent = new HttpsProxyAgent(
  "http://user-rotate:pass@gate.pulsenet.io:8080"
);

const response = await axios.get("https://httpbin.org/ip", {
  httpsAgent: agent,
});
console.log(response.data.origin);

Geo-Targeting

You can combine rotation with geo-targeting by adding a country code to the proxy username. For example, user-rotate-country-us rotates through US-based IPs only, while user-sticky-10m-country-de gives you a sticky German IP for 10 minutes.

When to Use Each Session Type

Conclusion

Rotating proxies are essential for any serious scraping or data collection operation. PulseNet makes configuration simple with its username-based session control. Use rotating sessions for independent requests and sticky sessions for stateful workflows, and combine either with geo-targeting for location-specific data.