Public and private IPs on a node

A node normally carries a public IP and a private IP from the moment you create it. You can add more addresses of several kinds afterward, each for a different job.

The default public and private IP

Most nodes get one public IP and one private IP as soon as they are created. E1-series nodes are the exception: they start with a private IP only, and get a public address when you attach a reserved IP during creation, or a public IP later. Wherever the portal has no IP address to show for a node, it reads Not Assigned.

You can detach a node’s public IP if you no longer need it reachable from the internet; the node keeps its private IP either way. Before you do, detach every Add-on IP, and clear or transfer any license still bound to the IP, such as cPanel, BitNinja, FortiGate, or Webuzo. See Detach the public IP for that task.

To attach or detach any IP, public, add-on, IPv6, or floating, remove the node’s lock first.

Add-on public IPv4

A node can carry more than one public IPv4 address. The Network tab’s section for extra public IPv4 addresses only appears once the node already has its primary one. Adding another means attaching a reserved IP from your account; see Attach a reserved IP.

IPv6

IPv6 is available for nodes in Delhi. You can turn it on when you create the node, where it becomes the node’s default public IP, or attach an IPv6 address afterward. A node can have up to 8 active IPv6 addresses at once; that is the only limit, regardless of the node’s family or region. See Attach an IPv6 address.

Floating IP

A Floating IP is a public IP that can move between nodes. Attaching one to a node shows which other nodes are already using it, so you can see where it is moving from. Reach for a Floating IP when the address itself needs to survive a move to a different node later, for example during a failover. Reach for an add-on IPv4 when you need another fixed address on this same node. A Floating IP can be attached to at most 4 resources at once, separate from a node’s own 3-connection cap; if attaching one says the limit is reached, detach it from one of the others first. See Attach a Floating IP to a node for the steps. Reserve and manage your account’s IPs, including Floating IPs, from Reserved IP.

VPC private IPs

Attaching a node to a VPC gives it a private IP on that network, on top of its default private IP. Attach one when you want the node to reach other nodes over a private network you control, rather than over the public internet. A VPC marked Default has an E2E provided range of 512 IPs with no subnets. A Custom VPC lets you set your own CIDR, subnets, and IP addresses instead, useful once you want to segment your own network differently. CIDR is the notation that describes a network’s address range, like 203.0.113.0/24. A node can have up to 3 private network connections in total, counting its own default private IP. Within that total, a node holds at most 2 private IPs from one VPC or one subnet; at 2, the attach dialog greys out that choice. See Attach a node to a VPC for that task, and VPC for how VPCs themselves work.

Reserving an IP so it survives node deletion

A running node’s current public IP can be reserved so it stays yours even after the node is deleted. That costs a monthly charge, instead of the IP returning to the pool. Manage a reserved IP, including one reserved this way, from Reserved IP.