IP Addresses: Requesting, Reserving, and Releasing IPs
Each DartNode server comes with a primary IPv4 address and IPv6 connectivity. You can add more addresses to a server, keep addresses on your account independent of any one server, and move them between your services. This guide covers how DartNode handles IPs, how to request and release them, and how to make new addresses work inside your server.
How IP addresses work at DartNode
| Type | What it is | What happens when the server is canceled |
|---|---|---|
| Primary IP | The main IPv4 address the server was deployed with. It's marked with a badge in the dashboard. | Released with the server. It can't be detached or released while the server exists. |
| Floating IP | An additional address attached to one specific service. | Released with the service. |
| Reserved IP | An address held by your account. You can attach it to a service, detach it, and attach it to another service. | Stays in your account, ready to attach elsewhere, until you release it. |
If you need an address to outlive a particular server, for example one with DNS, an allowlist, or reputation tied to it, use a reserved IP.
Requesting additional IPs for a server
- In the dashboard, go to Cloud VPS and open your server's Instance ID.
- Open the Networking section and click + Request IP.
- Enter how many IPv4 and/or IPv6 addresses you need (up to 5 of each per request).
- Review the quote. It shows the prorated charge for today and the recurring monthly cost.
- Confirm. An invoice is generated for the new addresses.
- Pay the invoice from Billing using your account balance or any payment method on file.
- Once it's paid, go back to Networking and click Reconfigure Network to push the new addresses to your server.
Additional IPv4 addresses are billed monthly per address, alongside the server. Current pricing is shown in the request quote.
Need more than 5, or a whole subnet?
Open a ticket with the number of addresses and what they're for. Larger allocations are reviewed by hand, because IPv4 is a scarce resource and we have to justify our own address space to the registries. If you already own address space, see BYOIP (Bring Your Own IP).
Managing reserved IPs
Go to Network > Your IPs in the main navigation to see every reserved and floating address on your account. From there you can:
- Attach a reserved IP to one of your services
- Detach it from a service. It stays in your account, and you keep paying for it.
- Release it, which removes it from your account entirely and stops billing for it
After attaching or detaching an address, run Reconfigure Network on the affected server.
Releasing an IP from a server
- Open the server's Networking section.
- Click Release next to the address and confirm.
A released address goes back into DartNode's pool and may be assigned to another customer. You can't get the same address back afterward, so update any DNS records pointing to it first.
New IPs not working?
- Run Reconfigure Network. The dashboard writes the network config for you. This is the step most often missed.
- Configured networking by hand? Make sure the new address is in your netplan,
/etc/network/interfaces, or NetworkManager config with the correct prefix and gateway, as shown in the dashboard. - Check that the invoice is paid. Unpaid addresses aren't activated.
- Still stuck? See Fixing Connectivity Issues, or open a ticket with the server ID and the addresses involved.