How to Add and Configure Additional IPs with Contabo

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Have you ever faced the challenge of needing to run multiple services on your server, but worried about them interfering with each other? Or perhaps you’ve wanted to improve your email deliverability by separating your mail server from your website? Many server administrators find themselves in this position as their online operations grow. Additional IP addresses solve these common challenges by allowing you to expand your server’s networking capabilities. Instead of investing in entirely new servers, additional IPs let you maximize your existing infrastructure while keeping services properly separated. 

Watch Our Complete Configuration Tutorial

Why Additional IP Addresses Matter for Your Business

When expanding your network infrastructure, additional IP addresses offer significant benefits: 

  • Cost-Effective Growth: Add network capabilities without investing in completely new servers, allowing you to scale efficiently as your business grows 
  • Enhanced Security Posture: Separate critical services to minimize security risks—if one service is compromised, others remain protected on their own IPs 
  • Improved Performance Management: Allocate resources more effectively by distributing services across different IPs, preventing one high-traffic service from affecting others 
  • Simplified Troubleshooting: When services have dedicated IPs, identifying and resolving network issues becomes straightforward, reducing downtime 

Ordering Additional IPs Through the Contabo Control Panel

Before configuration, you’ll need to order your additional IPs: 

  1. Log into your Contabo Customer Control Panel 
  1. Navigate to your services and select “Manage” next to your VPS or VDS 
  1. Choose “Order Add-on” and select “Order Additional IP Address” 
  1. Review the pricing and confirm your order 

The number of IPs available depends on your server type: 

  • VPS customers can add 1 additional IP address 
  • VDS customers can add up to 15 additional IP addresses

Configuring Additional IPs on Linux (Ubuntu) 

Once your IPs have been assigned, follow these steps to configure them on Ubuntu: 

  1. Connect to your server via SSH and open the network configuration file: 

sudo nano /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml 

(Note: You can omit “sudo” if logged in as root) 

  1. Add your new IP address to the configuration: 

network: 

  version: 2 

  renderer: networkd 

  ethernets: 

    ens18: 

      dhcp4: no 

      addresses: 

        – 203.0.113.10/24    # Your primary IP 

        – 203.0.113.11/24    # Your additional IP 

      gateway4: 203.0.113.1 

      nameservers: 

        addresses: [8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4] 

  1. Save the file and apply the changes: 

sudo netplan apply 

  1. Verify your configuration is working correctly: 

ip addr show

Adding Additional IPs on Windows Server 

Windows Server offers a graphical approach to IP configuration: 

  1. Open Control Panel by searching for it in the Windows search bar 
  1. Navigate to Network and Internet → Network and Sharing Center 
  1. Click on your active connection (typically “Ethernet”) 
  1. Select “Properties” and then double-click “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)” 
  1. In the properties window, click “Advanced” 
  1. Under the IP addresses section, click “Add” 
  1. Enter the IP address and subnet mask provided in your Contabo confirmation email 

Click “Add” and then “OK” to save and implement your new IP configuration

Practical Applications for Multiple IP Addresses 

Here are real-world scenarios where additional IP addresses solve common challenges: 

  • eCommerce Expansion: A growing online store separating their main shopping site (primary IP) from their customer service portal (additional IP) to maintain performance during high-traffic sales periods. 
  • Web Developer Efficiency: A freelance developer hosting multiple client websites on a single server, each with its own IP address to enable proper SSL certification without domain conflicts. 
  • Business Email Security: A marketing firm setting up a dedicated IP for their email server to improve deliverability rates and prevent their newsletter campaigns from being flagged as spam. 
  • Game Server Management: A gaming community running separate game servers for different games or game modes, each with dedicated IPs to simplify connection management for players. 

Development & Testing: A software team creating isolated development, staging, and production environments on the same infrastructure while keeping them network-separated for security.

Understanding Static and Floating IPs 

Contabo offers both configuration types to meet different needs: 

Static IPs remain permanently assigned to your server, providing consistent addressing. 

Floating IPs can be reassigned between servers, offering flexibility for load balancing and failover scenarios. 

Ready to Expand Your Server’s Network Capabilities? 

Additional IP addresses give you the flexibility to grow and adapt your online services as your needs evolve. The configuration process is straightforward, and the benefits to security, performance, and management are immediate. 

Visit our website today to enhance your server’s networking capabilities with additional IP addresses that fit your specific requirements. 

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