Every day it becomes more and more difficult for an ordinary user to fully use the possibilities of the Internet. The number of blocked resources is constantly increasing, and popular resources are tightening their usage policies and blocking accounts.
As a solution to this problem, many use dedicated datacenter proxies. One of the quality parameters of a proxy is ping. In this article, we will consider what ping is, what it affects when working with a proxy server, and how you can check it.
What is ping and what does it affect
Ping is the period required to send the initial data packet from the user’s PC to the server (remote computer). Ping parameters determine how fast the server responds to incoming user requests. This indicator is measured in milliseconds (ms).
Due to the fact that the role of the proxy server is to mediate between the user’s computer and the remote PC, the ping value directly determines the speed of receiving and processing incoming external data.
It turns out that the lower the ping, the faster the server receives and responds to incoming external information (data packets).
The ping level is affected by:
- The remoteness of the proxy server from the user’s PC. The further away the server hardware is physically located, the higher the ping (longer response).
- The quality of the software and hardware used for the proxy server. The newer and more relevant it is, the lower the ping.
- Workload. The more data passes through the proxy server per unit of time, the longer the response.
- The duration of the technological chain. The more devices (switches and routers) involved in the process of passing traffic on the proxy-user segment, the higher the ping.
- The quality of the equipment and routing algorithms (paths for data flow) used by your ISP.
- Network signal strength between tower and equipment (for mobile devices).
Features of connecting through a proxy server
Let’s describe the features of accessing the Internet through a proxy server in typical cases.
- Anonymous surfing. Access to the network not directly on your behalf (IP address), but using a fixed proxy server address. This gives you basic anonymity for visiting sites where you wish to remain incognito.
- Bypass blocking. The ability to bypass various Internet blocking (for political, religious reasons, copyright, etc.) from providers. The effect here is achieved due to the fact that we send a request to the blocked site not on our own behalf (forbidden space), but on behalf of a proxy that has access to the site.
- Since the provider does not have the technical ability to control all network addresses, in most cases (if the address of a particular proxy is not included in its block list), you can safely bypass the blocking.
- Work with online services and software. Since the proxy server uses its own individual IP on the network, working with it allows you to simultaneously use a large number of accounts per person (multi-account). This is convenient in games, social networks, and various electronic money systems.
- Security. Having a connection through a proxy server creates additional protection against attacks from potential malicious scripts, since any modern proxy has a built-in firewall.
- Downloading files. Free use of torrents regardless of the restrictions imposed by the provider. Usually, a block for unlimited downloading of torrents is imposed on accessing the network from a mobile device (smartphone or modem). The provider determines the type of such traffic and reduces the speed to zero.
- But when connecting to a proxy, the provider can only capture traffic coming from the proxy without determining its type. Therefore, the speed of downloading torrents will be determined only by the bandwidth of the server itself. As you can see, regardless of the purpose of using a proxy, the ping has one of the defining values, since the download and data transfer speed depends on it.
Ways to check ping
Users have several options for checking ping. Let’s look at some of them:
- Through special programs – proxy checkers.
- Through the operating system. For example, for WINDOWS, verification can be done using the command line. To do this, enter the keyboard shortcut: (win + R) ⇒ CMD. Then, in the field that opens, write: PING and, separated by a space, the IP address of the server (or the address of the site).
- With the help of service sites to check the quality of the connection (just type in a query in search engines).
- Checking flow routes through tracing. To do this, enter: tracert space IP or domain. Example for WINDOWS: “tracert wikipedia.org” (without quotes).
Using VPN and proxy to reduce ping for gamers
Gamers use proxy and VPN to reduce ping. Their fundamental difference is that the proxy uses an application-level connection, that is, the player in each game or application will need to manually enter the proxy address.
For VPN, this is not required, since a new network connection is created and the traffic from the client to the VPN server is encrypted. So, what is better to use for games – a proxy or VPN?
If the traffic in the game is heavy and the VPN server is loaded, the encryption that the VPN provides will add precious milliseconds when the packet is delivered to the game server.
Now it is fashionable, reliable, and convenient to use VPN and feel protected, due to the fact that all traffic is encrypted. But is it necessary to encrypt traffic for games?
Probably yes, if you play at work and from the corporate network, but for normal home use, it is quite possible to do without it.
The proxy server acts as an intermediary, like a VPN server, with a certain set of rules, and when a packet arrives at it, it broadcasts it further without bothering to encrypt the entire stream.
Due to the fact that the proxy does not encrypt, the ping in theory should be less. In practice, the ping will not differ much between the two servers.
What is more convenient and better from this is up to you to determine, but if you decide to choose a provider with these technologies in order to reduce ping in the game, then pay attention to:
- in which countries and locations are servers installed;
- is there a trial period;
- what games are supported;
- price.
Final thoughts
If you are looking for a proxy to reduce ping, then PrivateProxy.me is a reliable company to use this service. The company provides proxy services for such games as Minecraft, Diablo 2, SilkRoad, Lords Mobile, RuneScape.