1

I have a site on its own domain hosted by a web hosting service company. Will my IP-address ever change?

Ever? Or will it be the same for ever?

The question arouse when I set up DNS records for mapping one domain to another, and I wonder, could the target domain all in a sudden get a new IP so the redirect doesn't work?

Improve this question
5
  • Generally no. Some web hosts do some funny things of course, however, generally, your IP address should stay the same as long as you pay the bill and maintain the site. Of course if you change hosts, the IP address will have to change.
    – closetnoc
    Dec 12, 2015 at 0:35
  • 1
    Agreed. I've been with the same host for years and every time they upgrade their servers I get a new IP address.
    – John Conde ♦
    Dec 12, 2015 at 0:36
  • @JohnConde In theory, you should not even have to change IP addresses within the same host unless you change your service level from shared to dedicated. My customers, when I was a host, would enjoy totally transparent server upgrades and changes without an IP address change. It is possible to set it up so that as long as you are with the same host (on the same network), no IP address change would ever be necessary.
    – closetnoc
    Dec 12, 2015 at 3:13
  • 1
    @closetnoc You know what they say about theory and practice!
    – John Conde ♦
    Dec 12, 2015 at 13:36
  • @JohnConde I have always found a conflict somewhere... even with my schema where IP addresses where hosted on the firewall and dynamically allocated where I want/need, I can imagine a conflict happening at some point.
    – closetnoc
    Dec 12, 2015 at 16:02

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1

I have a site on its own domain hosted by a web hosting service company. Will my IP-address ever change? Ever? Or will it be the same for ever?

I assume its an all-in-one package you have with one company and I assume the IP address you refer to is in connection with the domain.

Generally, the IP address should stay the same unless some company in connection with your hosting company decides to make some changes involving IP addresses, but the odds of that should be very low, especially if the company is reputable.

If you want more control, you can own (aka rent yearly) a domain name from a registrar and hook it up to a dedicated server box which comes with an IP address. By hooking it up, I mean setting the IP address in your domain name registrar control panel to that of your dedicated server box.

Such setup is expected to take between 1 and 48 hours for the whole internet to understand the mapping of the new domain.

Regardless of what setup you take, Just make sure you are notified by the host in advance if your IP address of the computer your domain is connected to changes. The only way the companies should not have to notify you is if you fail to pay your bill and/or breach the terms and conditions set by your web services provider(s).

Improve this answer
0

Will my IP-address ever change?

The short answer is, yes it can change.

However, this depends entirely on your host and the services you are using. If you are paying for a dedicated server / VPS, with its own dedicated IP address then the IP should never change.

On the other hand, if you are on a shared server then it can. Although ideally it shouldn't and any changes should be rare.

Like John Conde mentioned in comments, I too have experienced an IP address change when the host has a "major" upgrade of their servers. This has been infrequent; every few years.

Then again, some hosts do appear to do some "funny things", as closetnoc mentions in comments. Have a read of the following question regarding Dreamhost's bizarre behaviour:

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.