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Rackdog lets you allocate additional IP address space and route it directly to a specific server. The allocation is statically routed on the network switch, so traffic for any address in the block is delivered to the server without extra configuration on the gateway side. Billing for additional IPs is prorated to the first of the following month and then billed monthly. See Subscriptions for details.

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How it works

  1. Provision a server.
  2. Request an IP allocation via the API, pointing it at that server.
  3. Rackdog installs a static route on the switch for the block.
  4. You configure the addresses on the server itself.
Rackdog handles the routing. You handle how the IPs get used on the box.

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IPv4 allocations

Block sizes: /30, /29, /28, or /27. The hard cap per allocation is 32 IPv4 addresses (/27); larger requests require approval.

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IPv6 allocations

IPv6 support depends on the server. Use the API to list your servers and check which ones support IPv6 allocations. Only /64 blocks are supported.

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Ordering

Once you have a server running, call the IP allocation API with the server ID and the block size you want (IPv4 or IPv6). Check allocation status via the API; once it’s active, the block is routed to your server. Dashboard support is on the way.

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Routing

All addresses in the allocation are statically routed from the switch straight to your server. That means you don’t need to add extra routes inside the OS or configure a custom gateway: the network will deliver traffic for the block, and you just need to assign the addresses on the server’s interface.

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Configuring the OS

Rackdog doesn’t configure the addresses inside the operating system. After the allocation is active, assign them on your server.

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Ubuntu / Netplan (IPv4)

network:
  version: 2
  ethernets:
    eth0:
      addresses:
        - 203.0.113.10/32
        - 203.0.113.11/32
Apply: 
sudo netplan apply

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Ubuntu / Netplan (IPv6)

network:
  version: 2
  ethernets:
    eth0:
      addresses:
        - 2602:abcd:1234::1/64

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Things to know

  • IP blocks are routed to a specific server, but you can move an allocation to a different server at any time.
  • If the target server is deleted, the routing goes away, but the allocation itself stays on your account and continues to bill until you either reassign it to another server or cancel it.
  • You can use any address in the allocated range.
  • You’re responsible for assigning the addresses on the server and pointing your services at them.

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Common use cases

Additional IPs show up most often for:
  • Hosting multiple services on their own addresses.
  • Load-balancing or failover setups.
  • Multi-tenant applications.
  • Reverse proxies and ingress systems.
  • Running a hypervisor like Proxmox on the server and assigning public IPs directly to individual VMs.

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Good habits

  • Assign addresses explicitly so you’re not paying for unused allocations.
  • Keep internal documentation of which IP maps to which service.
  • Validate OS config after applying changes — a typo in Netplan is easy to miss.