Proxy Concepts

This guide explains the fundamental concepts you need to understand before working with proxies and the ASocks API.

What is a proxy?

A proxy server is a computer that acts as an intermediary between your device and the internet. When you use a proxy, your web requests go through the proxy server first, which then forwards them to the target website. The website sees the proxy’s IP address instead of yours.

Why use proxies?

• Anonymity — hide your real IP address
• Geo-targeting — access content from different countries
• Web scraping — avoid IP bans and rate limiting
• Account management — each account gets a unique IP

What is a port?

In the context of ASocks, a port is your personal proxy connection endpoint. When you create a port, ASocks allocates:

• A host address (e.g. proxy.asocks.com)
• A port number (e.g. 10001)
• Login and password for authentication

Together they form a proxy URL: socks5://login:password@proxy.asocks.com:10001

Note

One port = one proxy connection. If you need 100 proxies for 100 accounts, you create 100 ports.

Proxy types

ASocks offers different types of proxies based on the source of IP addresses:

Residential

IP addresses from real home internet connections (ISPs). Highest trust level — websites see them as regular users. Best for account management and social media.

Mobile

IP addresses from mobile operators (4G/5G). Very high trust — mobile IPs are shared among many users naturally. Great for social media automation.

Corporate

IP addresses from corporate networks. Medium trust level. Suitable for business applications and B2B scenarios.

proxy_type_id	Name	Trust Level	Best For
1	Residential	Highest	Social media, account farming
2	All	Mixed	General use
3	Mobile	Very High	Social media, high anonymity
4	Corporate	Medium	Business, B2B

Connection types

The connection type determines how your proxy handles IP rotation:

Keep Proxy (type_id=1) — Highest Trust

You get a fixed proxy that maintains the same IP for the entire lifetime of the port. The IP never changes unless you explicitly refresh it.

Use when: You need a stable IP for an account (e.g., one proxy per social media account).

Keep Connection (type_id=2) — High Trust

The proxy IP may change between connections, but ASocks selects a new IP from the same subnet or ASN — so the target website sees a “similar” IP.

Use when: You need reasonable IP consistency but can tolerate occasional changes.

Rotate Connection (type_id=3) — Maximum Anonymity

A new IP is assigned for every connection. Maximum anonymity but lowest trust.

Use when: Web scraping, data collection — each request from a different IP.

type_id	Name	IP Behavior	Trust	Best For
1	Keep Proxy	Fixed IP	Highest	Account farming
2	Keep Connection	Same subnet/ASN	High	Browsing, general
3	Rotate Connection	New IP per connection	Low	Scraping

Server port types

Shared (server_port_type_id=0)

A free port that shares server resources with other users. No traffic limit configuration needed.

Best for: Testing, low-volume use, getting started.

Dedicated (server_port_type_id=1)

A paid port with dedicated resources and a configurable traffic limit (in GB). You pay for the traffic you allocate.

Best for: Production use, high-volume traffic, guaranteed performance.

Caution

Dedicated ports require a traffic_limit parameter (minimum 1 GB). This is the amount of traffic you purchase for this port.

server_port_type_id	Name	Cost	Traffic Limit	Best For
0	Shared	Free	N/A	Testing
1	Dedicated	Paid	Required (GB)	Production

ASN (Autonomous System Number)

An ASN identifies a specific internet provider. For example:

• AS13335 — Cloudflare
• AS15169 — Google
• AS32934 — Facebook

When creating a proxy, you can optionally specify an ASN to get an IP from a specific provider. This is useful for:

• Getting IPs that look like they belong to a particular ISP
• Ensuring IP consistency for “Keep Connection” mode

Putting it all together

When you create a proxy port, you choose:

1. Country (and optionally state, city) — where the proxy is located
2. Connection type — how the IP behaves
3. Proxy type — what kind of IP (residential, mobile, corporate)
4. Server port type — shared (free) or dedicated (paid)
5. Traffic limit — how much traffic (only for dedicated)
6. TTL — how long the port lives (in days)

from asockslib import ASocksClient, CreatePortRequest

async with ASocksClient(api_key="sk-...") as client:
    req = CreatePortRequest(
        country_code="US",          # United States
        city="New York",            # New York City
        type_id=1,                  # Keep Proxy (fixed IP)
        proxy_type_id=1,            # Residential
        server_port_type_id=1,      # Dedicated
        traffic_limit=10,           # 10 GB
        ttl=30,                     # 30 days
        count=5,                    # create 5 ports
    )
    ports = await client.create_ports(req)
    for p in ports:
        print(p.proxy_url)

Next steps

• Quick Start — install and make your first call
• ProxyPool Guide — automatic proxy management for thousands of accounts
• Smart Proxy Guide — health checking and rotation