Static IP vs Dedicated IP

There has been a lot of confusion between static and dedicated IP addresses. There are a lot of customers open a support ticket with request to get a static IP address. Today I would like to discuss this issue.

There are two types of IP addresses Dynamic and Static. Dynamic is the IP address that everyone receives automatically via DHCP server on home routers, wifi hot spots, etc. Basically anywhere you connect wirelessly or via cable and get internet connection automatically you get a dynamic IP address. Dynamic IP address can change when you connect next time. Servers cannot work with random IP addresses changes so we configure Static IP address on each server. So ALL servers have static IP addresses at all times. Static IPs cannot change randomly and assigned on a network card of each server. There can be more than one static IP address assigned to same server.

Shared Web Servers usually have a few IP addresses. By default all domains are assigned to just one IP address and all clients share this one IP address which makes this IP address a Shared IP. Technically it is possible to assign many domains to same IP address via binding in Internet Information Services (IIS7) and host headers in IIS6. Once a client wants to assign a SSL Certificate to his/her domain, shared binding/host headers are not possible anymore, so there is a requirement for a Dedicated IP. Once a dedicated IP is assigned to client’s domain, he/she is able to assign a SSL Certificate. The IP is now Dedicated to the client’s domain. The domain is no longer on a Shared IP address. Both Shared and Dedicated IP addresses are Static.

So it is incorrect to request a Static IP address from a web hosting company because all IP addresses are always static on all servers. Clients need to request a Dedicated IP address.