Linode Static IP Quesiton

Hello!

Welcome to Linode! :)

Networking is a common source of confusion so this is an excellent question. The short answer to your question is that your IP address will not change. Linode uses DHCP by default to acquire your IP address when the Linode is booted for the first time, but the IP address that it acquires is "assigned" to your Linode and will never change.

If you decide to use a private IP address or need multiple public IP addresses you would need to set up static networking[1] or use the Network Helper[2] to do it for you. If you are only planning on having the single IP address for your Linode then you do not have to do anything and your IP address will never change.

Best,

Lev

[1] https://www.linode.com/docs/networking/ … figuration">https://www.linode.com/docs/networking/linux-static-ip-configuration

[2] https://www.linode.com/docs/platform/network-helper

Slight caveat, for completeness. If you move your linode to a different datacenter then your IP address may change. As long as your linode stays in the same datacenter then you'll be good (migrations inside a datacenter, eg due to hardware issues or upgrades, are not a problem).

Network Helper is enabled by default for customers who created their accounts after January 19th, 2015, and therefore DHCP is not involved in any way.

Legacy customers can get the same behavior by flipping the switch on the Account -> Settings subtab.

All customers can control Network Helper on a per-configuration profile basis by, well, adjusting the "Autoconfigure Networking" setting inside the Linode's Configuration Profile.

Hope that helps!

-Chris

Thank you gentlemen. It is very clear to me now. I don't intend to change my linode or datacenter.

This thread was helpful to me (another new Linode member). A related question I have is: will the liNNNN-NNN.members.linode.com DNS alias always point my instance (short of my changing it), or can it change on its own (on reboots, etc.)?

It will always point to the same IP address. That hostname is tied to an individual IP address. If your Linode keeps the address, it will keep that hostname. If you swap the IP address to another Linode, that second Linode will then have that hostname pointed to it.