TCP Connection (Transport Layer)
A TCP connection is the underlying network link between your client and the Massive proxy server. It carries the actual bytes of your HTTP/HTTPS/SOCKS5 requests.- Idle timeout: Open TCP connections automatically close after 30 seconds of inactivity
- Scope: A single request (or a series of keep-alive requests on the same socket)
- Lifetime: Typically seconds to minutes, depending on activity
Sticky Session (Application Layer)
A sticky session is a logical mapping between your session ID and a specific proxy node (IP address). It is tracked server-side and persists independently of TCP connections.- Default TTL: 15 minutes (customizable up to 240 minutes via
sessionttl) - TTL is static: Set at creation time, not extended by subsequent requests
- Scope: All requests sharing the same session ID, regardless of how many TCP connections they use
- Lifetime: Minutes to hours, controlled by
sessionttlparameter.
How They Work Together
Within a single sticky session, many TCP connections can open and close — your IP stays the same throughout.0:00 — First request
TCP connection opens → Request with
session-abc → Assigned to IP 1.2.3.4 → TCP connection closes.0:45 — Second request (45 seconds later)
New TCP connection opens → Same
session-abc → Still routed to IP 1.2.3.4 → TCP connection closes.3:00 — Third request (3 minutes later)
New TCP connection opens → Same
session-abc → Still IP 1.2.3.4. Session is alive until TTL expires.15:00 — Session TTL expires
The 15-minute sticky session ends. The IP 1.2.3.4 is no longer reserved for
session-abc.TCP connections closed 3 times in this example, but the IP never changed until the session TTL expired.
Key Takeaway
| TCP Connection | Sticky Session | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Network socket between client and proxy | Logical IP-to-session mapping |
| Idle timeout | 30 seconds | None (static TTL) |
| Max lifetime | As long as data flows | 240 minutes (sessionttl-240) |
The 30-second idle timeout applies to the TCP connection, not the session TTL. If your TCP connection closes due to inactivity, simply open a new connection with the same session ID — you will get the same IP as long as the session TTL has not expired.