What Is a Dedicated IP Address & Dedicated Server?

 

In this article, we’ll continue these concepts while remaining focused on the business side of the operation. The conversation will focus on the three core facets of Internet business required to stay relevant: stability, resource utilization, and reputation.

Let’s get started!

What Is an IP Address?
IP is short for Internet Protocol and is that the address for any domain on the internet. It’s represented as a 32-bit number formatted into four 8-bit fields that are separated by periods.

IPs can host many domains, so we will conclude that IPs are the closest point at which we will separate traffic. Keeping stability, resource utilization, and reputation in mind, we will start to attack the business impacts of proper separation of traffic so we will allocate resources effectively.

What Is a Dedicated IP Address?

A dedicated IP address is a domain address that is your home on the web. Your dedicated IP isn’t shared with the other domains. Simply typing the dedicated IP address into a browser’s search bar will take a user on to your site.

When deciding between dedicated IP vs shared IP, remember that dedicated IP addresses will make the most impact on your dedicated server or VPS server’s stability and thereby your company’s reputation (make sense?). Here are a few of guidelines:

1. Dedicated IPs Should Be Isolated to a single Client.

A dedicated IP, by definition, is an IP address dedicated to single client. Keep it that way. It’ll assist you later with reporting, tracking, and representation of every client.

2. In Some Cases, a Dedicated IP Address Should Be Isolated to a Domain.

One of the most significant advantages of using a dedicated IP address is that bandwidth outside the server can be tracked and identified more granularly.

For example, if this IP address is that the target of a DDoS attack, and this IP hosts several domains, it’s often impossible identify the specific site being targeted. Most often in these situations, the case is that the whole IP address must be mitigated or black-holed, not the individual domain.

If this action causes downtime for the targeted client, all of the domains hosted on that IP are now being affected. A tarnish point on your client’s stability equals one on your stability, therefore your reputation.

What Is a Shared IP Address?

A shared IP address is one that’s shared among multiple different domains. A shared IP address is most used by smaller businesses that use a managed WordPress host or shared hosting providers.

As you think about dedicated IP vs shared IP, bear in mind that shared IPs can make the most impact on your resource utilization (i.e. your bottom line). Shared IPs should host multiple domains. Not doing so only leaves you spending extra money than necessary.

Keep these in mind:

1. Ensure Transparency When Placing Clients.

Shared IP addresses get a bad rap. Being upfront about your resources with clients will help ensure a long and healthy relationship with them.

2. If Possible, Avoid Using the Server’s Main or Primary IP Address as a Shared IP for Hosting as Well.

Often the primary IP address of a server is set up as the catch-all IP for all services. Mail, DNS, FTP, Databases; of these services run on that IP address.

Going back to the example of a malicious attack: should the most IP of the server also be the shared IP address, and if utilizing a null-route or black-hole to address the attack is the only response, you stand to lose access to all those domains as well as all the other services running on that IP.

3. It’s Okay to Load IPs Up With Domains, Just Be Cautious With the Anticipated Traffic.

As far as server resources are concerned, there’s no difference between shared IP vs dedicated IP addresses. From NIC configuration to power consumption, processor, or memory utilization, there’s no impact from the amount of IP addresses hosted on the server like dedicated servers.

The same is true with the domain-to-IP ratio. You can have many domains on one IP and see no issues with performance. You only have to worry if you’ve traffic that should be separated from other clients and isn’t.

Main Differences Between Dedicated IP and Shared IP

One of the main sticking points in resource utilization is the price. Each IP address is a flat, monthly fee, and the amount isn’t going to be stable forever. To know their impact on our business, we need to understand how every type of IP, dedicated IP vs shared IP is used, and the effect it has on our budget.

Let’s start by considering one dedicated IP.

Following our best practices, this IP would host an individual customer and just one domain. IP addresses at Sky Host UAE is 2 USD per IP, per month. That’s not bad! That’s a 24 USD investment for a single client per year. Let’s assume you finish up with twenty-five new customers in a year, a decent factor. This would equate to 600 USD per year in IP addresses alone if you were to put every new customer on a dedicated IP address.

However, if you were to correctly identify customers and decide that they didn’t need this level of service, you could have put all twenty-five of those clients on one IP address saving you 576 USD per year. That’s significant funds that could have been reinvested in your business’s growth and infrastructure with the dedicated server.

Further, if you compound that amount year over year, including continued growth, it’s easy to see where proper business IP structuring pays off. Keep this principle in mind as you think about dedicated IP vs shared IP addressing for your clients.

Benefits of Dedicated IP Address

Now that we’ve a foundation of what IPs are, how to use them, and the price points, we can look closer at why it’s sometimes worth it to spend little extra for dedicated IP hosting.

Classification for Stability and Reputation

Client classification requires an in-depth understanding of the environment, the client, and the client’s needs. Remember, IP addressing is about traffic segregation.

In a shared IP, the reputation of all domains is tied to the IP’s overall reputation. This could mean that one domain’s poor sender reputation could negatively impact the emails of all other domains at the shared IP. Potentially, a corporation with good email practices could still see its emails getting filtered into spam folders because of the actions of other domains on the IP.

A dedicated IP address assures businesses that they’re entirely liable for  their domain’s reputation and not subject to punishment for the improper actions of other domains. For many, the additional cost of a dedicated server IP is worth the peace of mind of being in control of their own reputation.

With that in mind, there are three question to consider when deciding between shared IP vs dedicated IP addressing for a new or current customer.

1. Does the stability of this new client require isolation from other clients/sites?

Potential clients who answer ‘yes’ to this question might be customers who are of a better business priority or who are sensitive to their stability. Often, customers of this ability are willing to buy the additional insurance dedicated IPs offer.

2. Does the stability of my other clients require isolation from this new client?

This is a question of trustworthiness. The internet is usually compared to the wild, wild west. It’s young, accessible, and incredibly popular.

That means it’s bound to attract all types of traffic and the only person standing up for your reputation, are you? It’s easier to separate less reputable traffic at the onset rather than try to do so later.

3. Is there a potential for any malicious the activity aimed at or sourced from the new client?

Here, we’re considering both stability and reputation. Now, having malicious traffic sourced from a client is difficult to foresee. A hack, an ill-tempered former employee: these are unfortunate and unforeseeable problems with circumstance.

A history of attack, however, is a bit easier to see coming and potentially thwart before it causes your business problems. Be diplomatic as you engage on this topic.

I’ve mentioned the dreaded DDoS attack several times now and have done so intentionally. These attacks are a severe threat and should be prepared for in advance as much as possible.

Further, there are some kinds of sites that tend to see more DDoS attacks than others. Bidding sites, blogs who lean toward controversial topics, or sites focusing on high competition industries are more likely to have issues than others.

Also, it’s completely acceptable to ask a client if they need had a history of DDoS attacks. Any reputable client will be forthcoming because it should be their desire to have a strong, healthy business relationship.

This doesn’t necessarily mean they’re bad clients. Remember, a DDoS attack is precisely that: a malicious attack. Often honest, well-intentioned people are the target of criminal activity.

With this information upfront, you can start to protect you and your new customer before time with VPS Server.

IP Classification Changes for Sky Host UAE Customers
Need to make changes to your clients’ IP addresses? No problem!

Starting with planning, Sky Host UAE method of IP allocation is comparatively simple. If you would like to migrate a customer from a shared IP to a dedicated IP, you can request a new IP through your Manage Interface. Just remember how valuable IP addresses are and vet every request carefully.

Fortunately, Sky Host UAE VPS server & dedicated server vetting process is also simple. You’d just have to justify the reason you need a new IP then use it appropriately. Request only as many as you need (a few, not hundreds) and provide the domain that’ll be using that IP. With a short explanation, your request should be granted quickly.

If you’ve one dedicated server, remember how IPs work on hardware: one server can host many IPs. These IP addresses are probably housed on an equivalent server, so migrating should just be a case of creating a few adjustments in your server management interface. If the destination IP is hosted on a different dedicated server from the source IP, there may be a few technical caveats.

Our tawk.to team can handle any questions, offer clarification, and begin operations with no problem! Open a ticket, and you should be on your way to resolving whether to use dedicated IP vs shared IP for your customers with vps server.