Choosing an IPv4 lease is easier when the decision is split into two questions. First, will your organisation use the addresses exclusively or share a public-address environment with other users? Second, will you work directly with the resource provider or through an intermediary? These choices affect routing control, address reputation, support and the cost of changing providers later.
A low monthly price does not answer those operational questions. Before signing, a buyer should identify the exact prefix, the party authorised to provide it, the routing arrangement, the records that can be changed and the terms that govern renewal. This guide explains how to compare the main models without treating every IPv4 offer as the same product.
Start with two separate leasing decisions
Terms such as shared, dedicated, brokered and first-party are often presented as competing categories. They actually describe two different parts of an offer. Shared and dedicated describe how the address space is used. Brokered and first-party describe the supplier relationship. A dedicated block, for example, may be obtained through either a broker or a first-party provider.
A detailed comparison of the types of IP leasing models can help a network team define these categories before it begins commercial negotiations. The practical task is then to connect each label to the controls and responsibilities in the proposed service.
| Model | What it describes | Typical fit | Main question to verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shared addressing | Several customers or services use the same public-address environment | Shared hosting, NAT-based services and workloads without an exclusive public identity | How are reputation and abuse issues from other users contained |
| Dedicated IPv4 | One customer has exclusive use of a specified address or block during the term | Hosting pools, ISP services, APIs, allowlists and independently routed networks | What exclusive use includes and who can change routing and records |
| Brokered leasing | An intermediary connects the customer with an address supplier | Buyers seeking inventory across multiple sources | Who holds authority and who handles technical incidents and renewal |
| First-party leasing | The customer works directly with the provider responsible for the supplied resource | Teams that value a clear operating relationship | What evidence supports the provider’s authority and service commitments |
Shared IP leasing
Shared addressing allows several customers or services to operate behind the same public address or within a shared public-address environment. It is common where a hosting platform, gateway or network address translation layer manages the public identity on behalf of many users. The customer may receive a service endpoint rather than control of a distinct routed prefix.
This model can be economical for websites and applications that do not require an exclusive public identity. It can also reduce the amount of network administration handled by the customer. The tradeoff is reduced control. Another user’s activity may affect the reputation of a shared address, and the customer may have limited ability to set reverse DNS, manage allowlists or move the address to another network.
A buyer considering shared addressing should ask how the provider separates customers, responds to abuse, monitors reputation and handles a request to move to a dedicated address. If a business depends on customer allowlists, email deliverability or a stable source address for partner integrations, shared use may introduce avoidable dependencies.
Dedicated IPv4 leasing
A dedicated lease assigns a specified address or block for one customer’s exclusive use during the agreement. That exclusivity gives the customer more control over how the addresses are deployed and how their reputation develops. It is often the relevant model for an ISP, hosting platform, data centre, cloud service or enterprise network that needs addresses for production infrastructure.
Dedicated use does not automatically mean that the customer can announce the block from any autonomous system. The contract and technical handover should state whether the customer can originate the prefix from its own ASN, whether a provider will announce it, and who maintains related records. The parties should also agree on reverse DNS, geolocation corrections, abuse handling and the process for changing the origin ASN.
The prefix size matters as well. A /24 contains 256 addresses and is commonly discussed as a starting unit for independently routed IPv4 space. Larger blocks may suit growing subscriber or hosting pools, but the buyer should budget for realistic utilisation, spare capacity and routing policy rather than selecting a block solely by its headline address count.
Brokered IPv4 leasing
A broker or marketplace can help a customer locate available address space. This may be useful when the buyer needs a particular size, region or start date. The commercial contact, resource holder and technical operator, however, may be separate parties. That separation is manageable when responsibilities are documented. It becomes risky when the customer cannot tell who is authorised to approve routing changes or resolve an incident.
The customer should know whether the broker remains involved after activation. If support passes to another company, the handover should identify that company and its response process. The agreement should also explain who communicates with the relevant registry, who can issue a letter of authorisation, who can arrange a Route Origin Authorization and who decides whether the same block can be renewed.
First party IPv4 leasing
In a first-party relationship, the customer deals directly with the provider responsible for the supplied resources and the service around them. This can reduce ambiguity because one organisation can answer questions about availability, deployment, records, support and renewal. Direct contact alone is not enough; the customer should still examine the provider’s authority, the exact prefix and the commitments stated in the agreement.
A direct operating relationship is particularly valuable once a block becomes part of customer allowlists, security policies or production applications. At that point, a forced address change is no longer a simple network task. It may require coordination with customers, vendors, security teams and application owners. Renewal terms and operational support should reflect that switching cost.
Check what the leasing label does not tell you
Two offers may both be described as dedicated IPv4 leasing while providing very different operational coverage. A useful comparison therefore looks beyond the label and tests the following areas.
Resource authority
Ask the supplier to identify the exact prefix and explain its authority to provide the addresses. Review the public registry record and confirm which organisation can approve use, routing and related changes. If an intermediary is involved, document the chain from the resource holder to the customer-facing provider.
Address history and reputation
Check the proposed prefix before deployment. Review routing history, reputation data and any blocklist issues that matter to the workload. No provider can guarantee that every external database will always show the desired result, but the agreement should establish who investigates problems and supplies evidence for correction requests.
Routing authorisation
A letter of authorisation can document permission for an agreed network use. A Route Origin Authorization, or ROA, identifies which ASN is authorised to originate a prefix under the Resource Public Key Infrastructure. The customer should confirm who creates or changes the ROA, what maximum prefix length is used and how the timing will align with the BGP announcement.
Operational records
Reverse DNS and geolocation affect how many services interpret an address. Confirm whether the customer can request PTR records or receive reverse-DNS delegation. Ask how geolocation corrections are submitted and what evidence the provider can supply. These processes often take time, so they belong in the deployment schedule.
Support and incident ownership
The contract should identify the contact for routing changes, reputation issues, abuse reports and urgent service problems. A brokered arrangement may divide those responsibilities among several parties. A first-party offer may consolidate them, but the service level still needs to be explicit.
Renewal and continuity
A one-year term and a dependable path to continued use are different things. Check the renewal notice period, pricing mechanism, termination conditions and treatment of the existing prefix. If the supplier can replace the block rather than renew it, estimate the operational cost of renumbering before accepting the clause.
Match the model to the workload
| Workload | Likely starting model | Reason | Priority check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small website on managed hosting | Shared addressing | The platform manages the public endpoint and exclusive routing may not be needed | Reputation isolation and upgrade path |
| Customer-facing API with allowlists | Dedicated IPv4 | A stable exclusive source address simplifies partner controls | Renewal and change notification |
| Hosting or cloud address pool | Dedicated IPv4 | The operator needs predictable allocation and reputation management | Routing authority, rDNS and abuse response |
| ISP subscriber growth | Dedicated IPv4 | The network needs capacity that fits its routing and allocation design | Block size, origin ASN and expansion options |
| Short experimental workload | Shared or dedicated | The decision depends on whether exclusive identity and routing are required | Minimum term and exit process |
Use a seven question comparison before signing
- What exact IPv4 prefix will be supplied, and will our organisation use it exclusively
- Which organisation has authority over the resource, and what evidence supports the proposed use
- Will we announce the block from our own ASN or use the provider’s routing arrangement
- Who can create or change the ROA, IRR route object, reverse DNS and geolocation information
- What checks have been completed on routing history and address reputation
- Who owns support for routing incidents, abuse reports and external reputation corrections
- What happens at renewal, and can we retain the same prefix if our production services depend on it
Collect the answers in writing and compare offers on the same basis. A cheaper quote may exclude services that another provider includes, such as routing support, record changes or renewal protection. The comparison should therefore use the full cost of putting the block into production and keeping it there.
Teams that are ready to move from model selection to deployment can review the practical steps in this guide on how to lease IP addresses. It covers requirements, provider checks, routing preparation and activation.
Common questions about IPv4 leasing models
Is dedicated IPv4 the same as first party leasing
No. Dedicated describes exclusive use of the addresses. First-party describes the relationship with the provider. A dedicated block may be supplied directly or through a broker.
Can a shared address be used for business applications
Yes, when the application does not require an exclusive public identity or independent routing. The buyer should still understand how the provider manages reputation, abuse and customer separation.
Can leased IPv4 be announced from the customers ASN
It can when the provider, contract and routing setup support that arrangement. Confirm the LOA, ROA, any required IRR records and upstream acceptance before the planned launch date.
Which model is best for a production network
A production network that needs exclusive addresses and stable customer-facing identity will usually begin by evaluating dedicated capacity. It should then compare brokered and first-party provider relationships based on authority, operating support and renewal continuity.
Choose the operating relationship as carefully as the address block
The right IPv4 leasing model depends on the workload. Shared addressing can serve applications that do not need exclusive control. Dedicated leasing fits networks that require their own address space during the term. Brokered and first-party arrangements can both provide capacity, but they create different lines of responsibility.
Before signing, identify who controls the resource, who can authorise routing, who maintains operational records and what protects continued use. Those answers determine whether the lease is merely an available block or a workable foundation for a production network.
