Do you want to learn how to create your own mobile proxy servers using modems? Then, you are on the right page as I will be providing you a step-by-step guide on how to achieve that.
If you need multiple IP addresses for your tasks, you can tell the use of proxies is an integral part of your task. And I guess you are already using them. However, depending on the type of proxies you use and where you get them from, the cost of a subscription can be high. Take, for instance, a dedicated mobile proxy server from any of the top providers that will cost you nothing less than $60 monthly for low-end countries and as high as $180 a month for high-on-demand countries.
If you need multiple of these IPs and for an extensive period of time, you can tell how the money you spend on proxies can quickly go up. But how about you set up your own mobile proxy server?
It might cost you more to set up from the beginning, but the amount you spend later on will prove it to be a better investment than paying for it. If you want to create your own mobile proxies, then be my guest in this article as I show you how to create your own mobile proxy servers using modems.
Why Set up Your Own Mobile Proxy Server?
There are high-end mobile proxy servers in the market that meet your needs. Why, then, should you create your own mobile proxy server? To start with, it is cheap for you to create and manage your own mobile proxy server if you have the right skills and expertise in the long run.
Take, for instance, it costs you an average of $60 – $120 to purchase a mobile proxy, and this cost compounds for the number of them you need. By creating your own, you can then spend some money upfront and then save as you go by. Once the setup is complete, you can be spending an average of less than $15 per modem/proxy for maintenance as opposed to paying the $60 – $120.
But the cost is not the only issue. Real privacy is not obtained by using proxy servers hosted by someone else in a different location. If you need real privacy online, then your web requests should only pass through routes you create — not one with a proxy server sitting in the middle that you don’t know what they do with your data.
Another reason why you will want to create your own proxy server is to have total control over the proxy. You can decide to use the hardware you want to get the kind of performance you get — and you get to make use of it alone. This dedicated mobile proxy server will be one of the game changers for you in terms of performance.
Disadvantages of Using Your Own Proxy Server
Setting up your own mobile proxy server sounds like a good deal — and it is actually — but not as simple as I answered. There are issues you will have to deal with. First, you are restricted to IP addresses from your region.
If you are in Brazil, you can only use SIM cards provided by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in Brazil. If you need IPs for other locations, then setting your own mobile proxy won’t help you — you have to use one of the providers out there. Also, it will take from you a lot of money to set up.
Except you are willing to use old equipment you already have laying in the office, you will need to spend to buy the equipment to run a mobile proxy network. Aside from setting them up, you also need to manage them, and that will also cost you some money too.
However, you can reduce the cost of management by using services such as Proxy-Seller to help manage the server for you by using their own proxy server software and paying them monthly. Even at that, though, the cost of electricity and repair/replacement of equipment is still on you — and things can get unpredictable.
The Making of Mobile Proxy Servers — an Overview
As a user of mobile proxies or any other proxy service, you don’t know how difficult it is to set up and manage proxy networks. The level of abstraction done is so great that you don’t even get to know the engineering aspect of things. For a mobile proxy server to be set up, it requires a great deal of plan and expertise to be able to assemble the requirements in making one.
Let’s forget about the expertise for a second, you need equipment and software to set up mobile proxies. This includes a computer server that runs the proxy server software, a USB hub for connecting multiple modems to it, and then the modems and SIM cards.
- Computer & Proxy Server
For dedicated mobile proxy servers that don’t need a lot of power for regular usage, you can use a min PC server that runs Linux. This mini PC server runs the proxy software that configure the proxies and handle requests sent by client devices.
It involves accepting requests and routing it via any of the available modems and then receiving the response and sending it back to the client. Generally, there is proxy server software you can get from the market. You can also develop one for yourself or get someone with network coding experience to develop one for you.
- USB Hub
For the USB hub, you will need one that can accommodate up to 10 USBs — the more, the better, as the number of USBs it can accommodate will determine the number of modems you can plug into your proxy network. As mentioned earlier, a 10 USB hub is good for those starting to test things out.
However, the ultimate decider of the number of hubs you need will be your project requirement. In some situations, one USB hub will not even be enough, as you will need more to accommodate the number of modems you need for the project.
- Modems and SIM card
In the actual sense of the world, your gateway to the Internet remains the modem — this can even be replaced with a smartphone. For the modems, you need fast ones. Each modem can accommodate one SIM card. You can purchase the number of SIM cards required and, insert them into the modems, and then plug them into the USB hub. One thing you need to note here is that you need Internet connectivity that is fast and unlimited. Get 4G SIM cards only (3G is slow) and make sure they have an unlimited data plan else that will add to your cost, too.
- Power Source
You need electricity to power your proxy server, and the source depends on you. However, the cheaper it will cost you, the better. But you need it to power your system 24/7 if your proxy server is available all the time. To reduce cost, you can make use of an inverter. If you don’t need it to be available all the time, then you can put it ON for the periods you need it and shut it down when you don’t.
An Easy Way to Setup a Mobile Proxy Server with Modem
The model described above is good, but it is not easy, considering you will need to develop proxy server software. This requires someone with expertise. If you don’t have that and you just want a plug-and-play solution, then Proxy-Seller is here for you. Proxy-Seller is a proxy service with proxies in the residential, datacenter, and mobile proxy market categories. It also offers a mobile proxy server setup service that helps developers and businesses set up mobile proxies.
The service comes in two flavors — support for those who have their own equipment and support for those who do not have equipment. Initially, they only supported the use of their own equipment. However, they have opened up the service to include even those who also have the required equipment. In this section, I will discuss the process of setting up your own mobile proxy server with the support of Proxy-Seller. Follow along even if you have your own equipment.
Step 1: You need to create an account with them. Do from the Mobile Proxy Control Panel of Proxy-Seller.
Step 2: If you don’t have the equipment, you will need to purchase the equipment. They have different plans for the equipment. The smallest is sold for $399 and comes with 5 modems, a USB hub, and a mini PC server. For 10 modems, you will need to pay $699, and for 20 modems, the cost is $1199. There is also a $1999 plan that comes with $40 modems.
Step 3: Once purchased, the equipment should get to you in one or two weeks, depending on your location and the logistics service used.
Step 4: Once you get the equipment, you will get a guide on how to set them up and start using them.
Step 5: Regardless of whether you purchased from them or not, you will need to subscribe to their service to manage the proxy server for you and use their software. The cost per modem management monthly starts from $8 for the basic plan, $10 for the advanced plan, and then for enterprise, they can contact for a custom quote.
As you can see, Proxy-Seller makes it easy for you — you can focus more on your job rather than supporting a proxy server software with updates and patches all the time.
FAQs
Q. Can I set up My Own Mobile Proxy Server?
Yes, setting up mobile proxies is possible and not even difficult. While you will find it difficult to develop one yourself if you want to develop it from scratch, you can just purchase equipment and use the software provided by experienced developers so that you can abstract away some of the difficulties that you would have faced if you were to develop it yourself. I mentioned how to develop your own mobile proxy server in the article.
Q. Is Creating Mobile Proxy Servers Illegal?
The answer to this question depends largely on your location and what you need the mobile proxy network for. In the general sense of the word and for most locations around the world, mobile proxies are not illegal to set up, manage, and operate. In fact, you would be surprised that all of the big corporations and.
Tech companies make use of proxies either developed in-house or used the solution of providers. However, I will advise you to seek legal advice from a competent professional in your region and let them know the specifics of what you need the proxies for.
Q. Should I Setup Mobile Proxies or Just Purchase?
The truth is mobile proxies are not meant to be set up by everyone. As good as the idea of setting mobile proxies is, you need a good reason to set them up. This is because it will cost you a lot from the beginning, and you will also need to support and maintain the system.
If you are not ready for this, then you are better off purchasing the proxies you need. You should only set up mobile proxies if you use them a lot, and for an extensive period of time, spending the money on purchasing and maintaining the proxy server and its equipment makes sense.
Conclusion
If you read the above well, you will see that setting up mobile proxies has been simplified by services like Proxy-Seller. However, there is still a lot left to you as the owner of the proxy server. You will need to provide power and maintain the equipment. This is a lot of work that could also add to your burden.
But if the advantages of setting the system up outweigh the disadvantages, then it makes a lot of sense to set up your own mobile proxy server using modems — and the method to get that done has been explained above.
