(PRWEB) July 22, 2005 — In today’s World Wide Web – website designers and
webmasters around the world must know the difference between shared and dedicated
IP addresses. Most web hosting companies do not offer dedicated IP addresses
for their clients. Why? Before we can attempt at answering this question, we
should further define and clarify the differences between the two.

Shared IP Address – Every web server around the world is assigned an Internet
Protocol (IP) address. An example of an IP address would look something like:
[126.703.4.151]. Most websites on the world wide web are hosted on shared IP
addresses, meaning that one server with one IP address can hold several domain
names.

In the not so distant past, every domain used to have individual IP addresses.
Recently, the allocation of IP addresses has been stricter due to the fact that
there is a finite amount of addresses in existence. Now servers have the ability
of determining a domain request through name servers. Example: www.dimarcogolf.com
is found by NS.REBELNETWORKS.COM where the name servers are tied to a specific
IP address.

Dedicated IP Address – A dedicated/unique IP address is not shared by other
domain names; it is unique to your domain name and your space on the server.
This means that if someone types in the numeric form of the IP address the same
domain will always appear in the browser. Dedicated IP addresses are considered
to be premium real estate on the internet and most web hosting companies charge
extra for their client to have one.

“We saw this as real eye-opener in the industry. Instead of asking our
customers to pay for a dedicated IP, we have included it with every package
we sell,” says Marc Boudreau, co-founder of Rebel Networks.

Usually dedicated IP addresses are used for large web sites, secure e-commerce
web sites, or other individuals that are willing to pay for such a premium.
Dedicated IPs give websites the ability for complex hosting and offer more flexibility.
The benefits of having a dedicated IP address are:

- Private SSL Certificate – SSL certificates are needed for accepting credit
cards online. Most web hosting companies usually offer a shared SSL certificate
where clients can share the web host’s server-wide SSL. This is not recommended
if you intend on having a very secure online store.

- Anonymous FTP – Anonymous FTP is a method of sharing files on the Internet.
Anonymous FTP means a server will allow anyone using an FTP software access
to a public directory. This service is called Anonymous FTP because the user
name used to sign in is “anonymous.” To enable anonymous FTP many
web hosting companies will require a dedicated IP for the anonymous FTP function
to work properly.

- Private Domain Name Server – An example of a name server would look like
this: [NS.REBELNETWORKS.COM, NS2.REBELNETWORKS.COM]. Since all web hosting companies
provide you with their DNS servers, you don’t need to have your own. But if
you choose to have your own name server you will need to have a dedicated IP
address to do so.

Another benefit of a dedicated IP address is that website will have more control
over their search engine results. Presently, search engines along with many
telecom and internet service providers around the world have been fighting to
block spam activity. This has been accomplished through blacklisting IP addresses
that have spammed in one way or another. Since shared IP address users are mixed
together on the same server IP with many others websites, innocent web sites
have been blacklisted from search engines.

In short – individuals who would like full control over their website, e-commerce
web sites who need their own SSL certificates, and individuals who want to fully
optimize their website for search engine results should consider a Static IP
address.

About Rebel Networks
Rebel Networks is a Leading Provider of Outsourced Internet Infrastructure
and Managed Website Hosting Solutions. Rebel Networks provides Managed Dedicated
Servers, Colocation Services, Shared Website Hosting, E-Commerce Solutions,
and Domain Name Services. Operating within its high-security Internet data centers
(Toronto and Baltimore), Rebel Networks has Internet connectivity via OC-3,
OC-12, and Gig-E connections from three different Tier 1 Providers.

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