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Overview

You can change your server’s IP address yourself, at any time, without opening a ticket. You do it with a floating IP: you rent a new address in the same city, attach it to the server, and swap it with the server’s primary address. The new address becomes the primary one, and the old primary address becomes the floating IP. You can then keep the old address, move it to another server, or cancel it. Open the Ascienth console at https://console.advinservers.com.
A floating IP is paid for from your account credit, so make sure you have enough credit to buy one before you start. Team members need the Make purchases permission to buy and cancel a floating IP, and Change networking to attach and swap it.
Only an IPv4 address can be the primary address. IPv6 addresses do not need to be swapped: buy a floating IPv6 address and attach it to the server.

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Changing Your IP

1

Buy a floating IP in the server's city

Open the server’s “Networking” tab, click Add Address and buy a new IPv4 address there. It is attached to the server once it is paid for. You can also buy one from the “Floating IPs” page under “Resources” and attach it to the server yourself. See Buying a Floating IP.
2

Wait for it to be attached

On the server’s “Networking” tab, the new address shows Floating IP as its type and Attached as its status once it is on the server.
3

Swap it with the primary address

Click the menu at the end of the new address and choose Swap with Primary. You can also choose Swap with Primary from the address’s menu on the “Floating IPs” page.
4

Confirm

The “Swap with Primary Address” dialog explains what changes. Click Swap.
The new address is now the server’s Primary IP, and the old primary address is listed as its Floating IP. Both addresses stay on the server, so it keeps answering on the old address while you move your services and DNS records over. We update the server’s network settings straight away. If the server is running, we also try to apply the new primary address inside it so it keeps answering without a reboot. If that is not possible, for example because the server is powered off, the change takes effect the next time it boots.

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Removing the Old Address

The old address is now a floating IP, and it keeps the billing of the floating IP you bought. Once nothing uses the old address any more, choose what to do with it:
  • To stop paying for it, cancel it. Choose Cancel from its menu on the “Networking” tab or the “Floating IPs” page. Immediate removes it from the server straight away, and End of billing period keeps it until the period you have paid for ends. See Cancelling an Address.
  • To keep it but take it off this server, choose Detach. It stays yours and is still billed, and you can attach it to another of your servers in the same city.
  • To keep both addresses on the server, do nothing.
A cancelled address goes back to the pool in its city and someone else may get it. You cannot get the same address back, so update anything that still points at the old address before you cancel it.

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Things to Know

  • The floating IP must be Active and attached to the server. An address that is still being paid for, attached, detached or cancelled cannot be swapped.
  • You cannot swap while the server is busy with another operation, such as an upgrade, a reinstall or a backup restore, or while it is suspended.
  • The new address comes from the same city as the server. We cannot guarantee that it is on a different subnet, or that it has a better reputation than the old one.
  • You can swap back at any time: choose Swap with Primary on the old address while it is still attached.
If floating IPs are not offered in your server’s city, or the swap is refused and you are not sure why, open a ticket in the client area at https://clients.advinservers.com/contact.php.

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Using the API

Swapping is one call with an API key that has the Change networking permission (network.update). Use the floating IP’s ID:
The response is the floating IP, which now holds the server’s previous primary address. See the API introduction for how to create a key.