Requesting additional IPv4 addresses for Cloud Servers

Rackspace offers the ability to add IPv4 addresses to cloud servers for a fee.
If you want to obtain an extra IPv4 address for your server, you must open
a ticket through the Support section of the Cloud Control Panel to get the policy
details and approval. Before opening a ticket, read this article for
necessary information and alternatives.

Conditions

Because of the global shortage of IPv4 address space, Rackspace offers IPv4
addresses for the following purposes:

  • Cloud server Secure Sockets Layers (SSL)
  • NAT (Network Address Translation) on a Fortinet® Fortigate Firewall

Note: Each cloud server or Fortinet Fortigate has a maximum capacity of five
IPv4 addresses, including the originally assigned public IPv4 address.

Pricing

Rates for additional IPv4 addresses vary by region. Discuss rates for your
region with the Support team during your setup.

Information needed

After getting approval for an IPv4 address, you should provide the following
information about servers and firewalls:

Cloud servers

For an additional IPv4 address on a cloud server, you must provide the following
information:

  • The name of the server for which you want to add the IP address.
  • The SSL certificate. A valid Certificate Authority must have signed
    the certificate. We do not accept self-signed certificates.

Fortinet Fortigate Firewalls

You must confirm that you intend to use the additional IPv4 address for
NAT purposes.

Alternatives to obtaining additional IPv4 addresses

Because there is a finite number of IPv4 addresses, Rackspace limits the number
that it distributes. We recommend that you use one of the following options
instead of obtaining additional IPv4 addresses:

  • Subject Alternate Name (SAN) certificates: SAN certificates make it
    possible to protect multiple domain names with one certificate. When you use a
    SAN certificate for a domain, you can add more SAN values and have that
    same certificate protect that single domain.

  • Server Name Indication (SNI): SNI enables the server to choose the
    appropriate certificate early during the communication between the client and
    the webserver.

    SNI does not work properly and can produce SSL errors when used with any
    Internet Explorer version on Windows XP or with Internet
    Explorer version 7 or later on any operating system. Generally, you can use
    any operating system released after 2011 with SNI, and the Firefox, Chrome,
    and Safari browsers work with SNI.

    Although support for SNI is not complete, it remains a good alternative to
    adding IPv4 addresses.