The short answer
A proxy gateway (or endpoint) is one address such as gate.example.com:8000 that stands in front of a whole pool of proxy IPs. You always connect to the gateway; it chooses which exit IP to use for each request based on your settings.
How you control it
Most providers let you steer the gateway through the username or the port number: add a country code to get a US or German IP, add a session ID for a sticky session, or use a different port for each sticky IP. Nothing changes in your code except that one line.
Also known as
Backconnect server, super proxy, entry node, proxy endpoint, rotating gateway.
Learn more
- Backconnect proxies
- What is a rotating proxy?
- Proxy ports explained
- What does host:port:user:pass mean?
- MDN on proxy servers and tunneling
- RFC 9110, HTTP semantics
- The curl manual, including --proxy
- IANA port number registry
Affiliate disclosure: Team of Monkeys is an affiliate of Geonode, Webshare and Rayobyte. Links and banners marked as sponsored, and links to Geonode, Webshare and Rayobyte in the text, use our referral links, and we may earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. Our explanations and comparisons are written to be useful whichever provider you choose.
Editorial note: Proxy providers change their pools, features and prices often, so treat any figures here as typical ranges at the time of writing and confirm current terms with the provider before you buy.
Editorial note: Proxy providers change their pools, features and prices often, so treat any figures here as typical ranges at the time of writing and confirm current terms with the provider before you buy.