In most cases, a single IP address is enough. You spin up a VPS, link a domain to it, and your project goes live. But as your projects grow, that one IP sooner or later becomes a bottleneck. It’s like trying to run reception, the mailroom, and security through a single doorway — at some point, the line gets too long.
That’s where hosting with multiple IP addresses comes in. By adding extra IPv4 addresses to a single VPS, you create separate lanes for traffic, split services, and strengthen the security of your infrastructure.
This guide isn’t just about theory. We’ll show you when you actually need hosting with multiple IP addresses, how to request additional addresses, and which commands to use to get everything up and running.
"I'll just use different ports."
You could run your web server on 80/443 and a game server on 25565 on the same IP.
But what happens when your game server gets hit with a DDoS attack? Your web server goes down, too. That’s the classic noisy neighbor problem.
Multiple-IP hosting solves this and a bunch of other issues.
Say you're running a client dashboard and a public marketing site on the same server. The same IP means the same traffic profile. If one starts receiving a stream of bad traffic, the firewall rules you apply can end up throttling the other as well.
Split them onto different IPs instead: IP A for the dashboard, and IP B for marketing. If IP B comes under attack, you can null-route it. IP A keeps running.
If you send transactional emails (password resets, invoices) and marketing campaigns from the same IP, you’re playing with fire.
One spam complaint on a newsletter can tank that IP's reputation. Suddenly, your password reset emails start landing in spam folders.
Multiple IPv4 addresses let you split the streams:
If IP 2 gets blocklisted, your business-critical emails on IP 1 keep flowing.
Some legacy banking APIs or strict corporate firewalls work off IP allowlists. They don't care about your fancy domain. They want a specific IP address.
If you ever move the server or rebuild the infrastructure, you might lose your primary IP. But if you have a dedicated "portable" IP for that gateway, you can simply reassign it to the new server — or keep it pinned to a secure tunnel.
Updating live applications is scary when your only option is overwriting production. It’s much better to run the new version alongside the old one.
Run the old app on IP A and the new app on IP B.
Test the new version "in the wild" without the hosts file tricks. When you're ready, update DNS.
Professional SEOs often use multiple C-class IP hosting to run localized sites or Private Blog Networks (PBNs). Search engines aren't naive: if fifty sites are on 192.0.2.1, they obviously share the same owner.
Distribute sites across multiple C-class IP hosting instead — for example, 192.0.2.1 and 203.0.113.5. To crawlers, they look like separate entities.
Server Name Indication (SNI) handles SSL for 99% of the web, but edge cases exist.
For example, older VPN protocols or custom DNS servers can bind services tightly to port 443 or 53 on a specific IP. If you need two different SSL VPNs on standard ports, you’ll need two different IP addresses.
Not everyone needs multiple IP addresses. If you just want to host two websites, you probably don't.
If you just want organization, use vhosts. If you need network-level isolation or reputation management, get multiple-IP hosting.
Adding IP addresses isn't always simple, although modern providers are making it easier.
At is*hosting, it's built in from the start. You can add additional IP addresses during checkout when buying a VPS. If you already have a running server, you can request them via a support ticket.
Up to 256 IP addresses are available for complex multiple C-class IP hosting configurations.
When ordering a VPS with additional IP addresses, get this info from your provider:
The key to configuring multiple-IP hosting is understanding how your provider actually delivers these addresses.
This is the most common for individual VPS additions. The provider routes a single IP (/32) to your server's Media Access Control (MAC) address. Usually, you don't need a new gateway — they piggyback on existing routes.
Buy a block, get a subnet.
Network address (first) and broadcast address (last) are reserved in subnets.
Some configurations use Failover IP. These are floating IP addresses that can be instantly switched from server A to server B through the provider's panel.
Such setups are critical for fault-tolerant configurations. A VPS with additional IP addresses becomes a lifeboat if the main hardware fails.
More power, less cost. VPS with NVMe speed, 40+ locations, managed or unmanaged — your choice.
Before running commands, make sure you know where you're looking.
First, connect to your server using Secure Shell (SSH) or Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) for Windows.
On Linux server, find your active network interface:
ip addr\
On older systems (or if you’ve installed net-tools):
Ifconfig
On Windows server (PowerShell):
Get-NetIPAddressGet-NetIPConfiguration
Find the interface that has your primary IP address. It could be eth0, ens3, ens18, or enp3s0. Write it down. If you try to bind a new IP to eth0 while the system is actually using ens3, nothing will work.
This is important for Linux users. You can temporarily add an IP using ip addr add in the terminal.
Don't do this in production. A server restart will wipe this configuration. Edit the network configuration files to make the multiple IPv4 addresses VPS setup permanent.
This is the technical part. We'll cover the most common environments. Whether you need Linux instructions or Windows Server configuration, the logic is the same. Identify the interface, add the IP, and apply the changes.
Ubuntu shifted from the old interfaces file to Netplan in newer versions (18.04+). Some server images still use the legacy method.
Check the /etc/netplan/ directory. You'll see a file named 01-netcfg.yaml or 50-cloud-init.yaml.
Code Snippet (Netplan):
network:
version: 2
renderer: networkd
ethernets:
ens3:
dhcp4: no
addresses:
- 192.0.2.10/24 # Your Main IP
- 192.0.2.11/24 # Your NEW Secondary IP
gateway4: 192.0.2.1
nameservers:
addresses: [8.8.8.8, 1.1.1.1]
Test and apply:
sudo netplan try
If no errors:
sudo netplan apply
This is the standard way to assign multiple IP addresses in Linux on modern Debian-based systems.
If you don't have Netplan, you’re using the classic method.
Open the file:
sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces
Add the new IP as an "alias" (virtual interface) like eth0:0.
Code Snippet (Legacy Interfaces):
# The loopback network interface
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback
The primary network interface:
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet static
address 192.0.2.10
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 192.0.2.1
The secondary IP (alias):
auto eth0:0
iface eth0:0 inet static
address 192.0.2.11
netmask 255.255.255.0
Then restart networking:
sudo systemctl restart networking
For Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)-based systems, use Network Manager (nmcli) or legacy network-scripts. This is essential knowledge for IPv4 routing Linux VPS management.
Used on CentOS 7/8/9 and AlmaLinux.
Check the connection name:
nmcli con show
Add a secondary IP to the existing connection (like System eth0).
Code Snippet (nmcli):
# Syntax: nmcli con mod [Connection Name] +ipv4.addresses [IP/CIDR]sudo nmcli con mod "System eth0" +ipv4.addresses "192.0.2.11/24"
Bring the interface up to apply the changes:
sudo nmcli con up "System eth0"
Note the + sign. Without it, you'll overwrite your main IP and lock yourself out.
Older CentOS versions need a file for the alias.
Go to the folder:
cd /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/
Create a file named ifcfg-eth0:0 (assuming interface is eth0).
Code Snippet (ifcfg alias):
DEVICE=eth0:0
BOOTPROTO=static
ONBOOT=yes
IPADDR=192.0.2.11
NETMASK=255.255.255.0
Restart the network service:
systemctl restart network
That's how to add multiple IP addresses on Linux across major distributions.
Windows makes this visual, but PowerShell is faster.
Want automation? Use this:
Code Snippet (PowerShell):
Get the Interface Alias (usually "Ethernet")
Get-NetAdapter
Add the new IP:
New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -IPAddress 192.0.2.11 -PrefixLength 24 -DefaultGateway 192.0.2.1
Usually, you don't need to specify the Gateway again if it matches the primary IP.
Don't assume it works just because the command didn't error. Verify your multi-IP configuration VPS.
If this fails, your routing table or gateway might be misconfigured.
Using multiple-IP hosting for email? Configure Reverse DNS (rDNS).
Gmail and Outlook will block your emails immediately if this is misconfigured.
Most services, such as Nginx or Apache, listen on 0.0.0.0 by default. That's "all available IP addresses." To get the benefit of multiple-IP hosting, bind services to specific IPs.
Nginx Example:
server {
listen 192.0.2.11:80;
server_name my-secondary-app.com;
...
}
Edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config to only listen on your private management IP. This makes the SSH port invisible on public web IPs.
ListenAddress 192.0.2.10
When you add a new IP, your firewall might block it by default — or conversely, if your rules are too generic, it might leave it wide open.
If you use Uncomplicated Firewall (UFW) on Ubuntu, allow traffic specifically to the new IP on port 80:
sudo ufw allow from any to 192.0.2.11 port 80 proto tcp
Always audit your iptables or Windows Firewall rules after adding an address to ensure you haven’t accidentally exposed a database port on the new public IP.
Make sure the outside world can actually see your new IP. Use curl to ask an external service which IP you're connecting from:
curl --interface 192.0.2.11 ifconfig.me
If it returns 192.0.2.11, congratulations — your multi-IP configuration VPS is live and routing correctly.
Get a VPS with a control panel — we’ll move your project fast and free.
Switching to multiple-IP hosting is genuinely pivotal for experienced admins. You move away from the risky "everything on one port" setup and step into a professional, segmented infrastructure.
Whether you’re protecting sender reputation, managing multiple C-class IP hosting for SEO pools, or running parallel applications during migration, the process remains logical and under your control.
You now know how to add multiple IP addresses on Linux and Windows — and, just as importantly, how to verify that everything actually works.
Ready to expand your network capabilities? Check out is*hosting's VPS plans.