Managed Hosting - Understanding Dedicated IP Addresses

While the Internet is comprised of countless protocols that have a number of different functions, many people are not familiar with what they are or what they do to help them as they surf the Internet.

Understanding Internet protocol (IP)

Internet protocol is the main communications protocol that is used on the Internet. Its primary function is to send and receive packets over the Internet and computer networks. In this sense the Internet protocol defines a method to set addresses online.

What is dedicated IP?

Dedicated IP is a form of Internet protocol that is a unique Internet address that is completely dedicated to one hosting account. This is different from a traditional IP in the sense that in most cases a number of hosting accounts exist on a single server and take part in sharing the server’s IP address.

In addition to costing more money to rent, the truth is that most hosting users, or Web sites, do not have a need for a dedicated IP address. However, in most cases, dedicated IP addresses are reserved for larger Web sites that require significant security and experience a large amount of Web site traffic on a monthly basis.

Dedicated IP addresses and your hosting account

When a company decides to use a dedicated IP address for their hosting account they gain the following capabilities:

• The ability to set up secure socket layer (SSL) protections for your Web site
  
• The ability to secure a faster response time when your site experiences high volumes of traffic.
  
• The ability to view your Web site through its dedicated IP address. Therefore, if your IP address were 211.133.45.172, you could type that number into your web browser to view your Web site just like you would type http://www.Website.com to view your site.
  
• The ability to access your hosting accounts file transfer protocol (FTP)
  
• The ability to accent the web when your domain is not accessible.

Dedicated IP and your Web site

The overwhelming majority of Web sites do not need a dedicated IP address. In most cases, dedicated IPs are used by larger corporate and ecommerce Web sites. These types of sites use dedicated IPs because of the complex needs and requirements of their Web site.

Since larger sites tend to experience high volumes of traffic and usage, they do not want to share their IP with other sites and risk the interruption of service from their hosting company.

When you have a dedicated IP, this means that your site is the only one on the Internet that is using this assigned IP number. This is especially important for sites that have merchant accounts, shopping carts and use their Web site to accept payments for products and services.

Having a dedicated IP address is also thought to have some advantage in terms of search engine optimization (SEO). Many organizations have found that using a dedicated IP helps them achieve better search engine results for their Web site when compared to shared IP addresses.

While many companies start out with a relatively cheap web hosting account for their Web site. But, as their Web site evolves, many companies upgrade to a dedicated IP for enhanced security.

Overall, dedicated IPs are useful depending on what kind of Web site your company uses to do business. The best thing that companies can do is weigh their options to determine what form of IP address is best suited for the effective operation of their Web site.