Public IP Address

The Cloud Management Portal allows users to expose virtual machines (VMs) within a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) to the internet by acquiring and assigning Public IP Addresses. This guide provides detailed, step-by-step instructions to help you acquire a public IP address and associate it with services like Port Forwarding, Load Balancing, or Static NAT for your VMs.

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Understanding Public IP Allocation in VPCs

When you acquire a public IP address from the Cloud Management Portal:

• The IP is allocated to the VPC level, not to a specific guest network or virtual machine.

• An IP becomes associated with a guest network only after you configure:

  • Port Forwarding

  • Load Balancing

  • Static NAT

• A single IP cannot be associated with multiple networks simultaneously.

• Every VPC is assigned a default source NAT IP at creation, used for:

  • Outbound traffic routing

  • Enabling remote access via VPN

  • Not intended for services like firewall rules, port forwarding, or load balancing

To enable external access to individual VMs, you must explicitly acquire additional public IPs.

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1. Accessing the VPC Section :

• Log in to your Cloud Management Portal using your authorized credentials.

• From the left navigation pane, go to:

  Network → VPC

• You will see a list of all existing VPC networks associated with your cloud account.

• Click on the VPC name to view its details.

2. Open VPC Configuration :

• On the VPC detail page, click the Configure button.

• You will be redirected to the VPC configuration page where network components such as routers, tiers, and IPs are managed.

3. Access the Public IP Address Section :

• In the left-side menu under Router Section, click on Public IP Addresses.

• You will see a list of all IP addresses currently associated with the VPC.

  • This list includes the default source NAT IP provided at VPC creation.

  • This IP is reserved and used exclusively for:

    • Source NAT

    • VPN connectivity

    • Not available for port forwarding or public services

4. Acquire a New Public IP Address :

• To assign external access to a VM, click on the Acquire Public IP Address button.

• A popup window will appear prompting confirmation.

  • Checkbox: Confirm that you wish to acquire a new IP.

  • Click Yes to proceed.

5. View and Use the New IP :

• After successful acquisition, the new IP will appear in the Public IP list under your selected VPC.

• This IP is now ready to be used for:

  • Port Forwarding Rules

  • Static NAT Configuration

  • Load Balancer Association

• You must now explicitly associate this IP with a network tier VM through the above services before it becomes active.

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Important Considerations

S. No	Behavior	Description
1	IP Scope	IPs are acquired at the VPC level, not directly bound to VMs.
2	Single Network Binding	A public IP can be associated with only one network tier at a time.
3	Default IP Limitations	Default Source NAT IP is for outbound traffic and VPN only — not usable for public service exposure.
4	Quota Limits	Your account may have limits on how many public IPs can be acquired per zone or per VPC.