Floating IP
A Floating IP is a public, static IP address for exposing services that provide high flexibility. This type of IP can be assigned to an instance or a network function such as Load Balancer and then be quickly re-assigned. Public access to a cloud server may require flexibility. With Floating IP, anticipate and manage public IP allocations through automation via the API.
Project IP reservation
Floating IPs can be provisioned during the first steps of your deployment and then used when needed. This empowers you to anticipate settings on other platforms, such as DNS configuration or firewall rules.
Switching between services
You can select the instance, or network function such as Load Balancer, to which a Floating IP is going to be attached and then switch it to another instance at any time. Floating IPs are managed at the Gateway level and can be connected to several private networks, allowing you to address all your instances.
No system requirements
All changes are handled at the network controller level and no configuration is required at the operating system level. Floating IPs can be switched from one instance to another by API, or through the customer control panel. One of the many benefits of this easy configuration is that maintenance operations become painless while saving time.
Discover the functionality of Floating IPs
| Product | Additional IP |
|---|---|
| Regions availability | Refer to regions availability |
| Public IP address | Yes |
| Pay-as-you-go | Yes |
| OVHcloud API support | Yes |
| OpenStack API support | Yes |
| Network ACL | Yes |
| Management interfaces |
OVHcloud Control Panel OpenStack Horizon |
| Anti-DDoS protected | Yes |
Use cases
High availability
Do any of your apps work in primary/secondary mode? A Floating IP can switch easily from the nominal instance to the secondary one, permitting the secondary can take over, in any circumstance.
It is a great way to simplify upgrades and scaling operations. You just have to move the Public Cloud Floating IP and bind it on the freshly deployed instance. It will receive all public incoming traffic and take an active role in your platform.
Principal access point
As its name suggests, a Public Cloud Floating IP is public and provides the principal access point from the internet to your infrastructure. A Floating IP can be associated with a single instance or employed in front of a Load Balancer to manage larger workloads by dividing traffic between multiple instances on the backend.
Environment migration
When deploying a project, an IP may be registered in firewall configurations, access lists, or DNS entries making it tricky or time consuming to change. A Floating IP is the solution to this challenge. Moving from a development environment to production has never been simpler or faster thanks to Floating IPs.
Floating IP scenarios
Combine Floating IP, Gateway and Load Balancer in your architecture and achieve the appropriate rules for network accessibility and achieve the level of security that you require.
Exposing a service on an instance
A service running on an instance within a private network can be reached from the public internet, only through the Floating IP. This enables you to update or replace the instance, transparently as the Floating IP remains the same.
For outgoing traffic to the public Internet, the service can leverage the Gateway. Typical use case is when the service needs to download a new update.
Exposing services behind Load Balancer
A Load Balancer can be reached through the Floating IP and distribute the incoming traffic to several instances. The instances behind the Load Balancer have no public IP, which ensures they remain completely private and not directly accessible from outside. The Load Balancer brings higher security supporting SSL encryption and can be updated transparently as the Floating IP is hosted at the Gateway level.
Guides
Key features
Network Security
You can combine the Floating IP with the Gateway, to have instances within a private network to be accessible from outside. On the other hand, you can have fully private instances leveraging the SNAT mode of the Gateway, without Floating IP, only reachable within the private network.
Regionalized
Create and expose your Load Balancer service closer to your customers, and take a geographical approach when building your infrastructure.
Integration with the OpenStack Public Cloud environment
With Floating IP, deploy and manage your network directly from your Public Cloud OpenStack environment, using the OpenStack API and all compatible cloud tools (Terraform, Ansible, Salt, etc.).
Instant interaction
Create your Floating IP in less than a minute and assign or move it almost instantly. This allows you to be more responsive in managing availability and scheduled maintenance.
Anti-DDoS Protection
This is the first line of defense for any product and service on the OVHcloud network. A large network capacity and a distributed global platform help protect against even the largest of attacks.
Simplified management
Choose the tool that suits you for administration of your Load Balancer: OpenStack Horizon UI or API.
Floating IP Billing
Floating IPs are billed using the pay-as-you-go model, charged by the hour, with an invoice sent at the end of each month.
Other products
FAQ
What is a Floating IP?
A Floating IP is a flexible public IP that can be used to expose the service of your choice. It can be mapped either to a private instance (via a Gateway) or to a network service like Octavia LBaaS. Using Floating IP, a Public Cloud Instance or a network service will be able to accept incoming connections from the internet. It can be pointed to one service, and on request, redirected to another quickly.
What is the difference between Floating IP and Additional IP?
Both are an additional static public IP, which can be ordered and added throughout the life of a product.
Additional IP is a product designed to work across all OVHcloud products (Baremetal, VPS, Public Cloud, or Hosted Private Cloud). You can check our guides how to configure it for Public Cloud instance or how to create a service agnostic public IP -using IP Additional IP vs Floating IP.
Floating IP is designed for cloud-native use cases within our Public Cloud ecosystem, is fully compatible with OpenStack, and can be automated by a third party such as Terraform.
Can Floating IP be integrated into a Public Cloud project?
Yes, our service can be consumed within a Public Cloud project, like any other Public Cloud services. You can manage it from your control panel or the OVHcloud API, and even with the OpenStack API.
What is the billing model?
Floating IPs are designed to be used in a pay-as-you-go model, charged by the hour, with an invoice sent at the end of each month. Check our pricing pays for details.