IP Management in DirectAdmin – A Complete and Practical Guide for Administrators

1. How to Bind All IPs (startips Service)

The startips service is responsible for binding all IPs managed by DirectAdmin. It runs automatically at system boot, but after any network restart, it must be triggered manually.

On systemd-based systems:

systemctl restart startips

On older init.d systems:

/etc/init.d/startips restart

---

2. Viewing Real Device IPs in the IP Manager

In newer DirectAdmin versions, calling:

CMD_IP_MANAGER?json=yes

returns not only the IPs configured inside DirectAdmin but also device_ips, which lists all real IPs detected on the server (via ifconfig or ip addr).

Each IP includes:

• netmask
• bitmask
• ifa_flags

Example JSON output:

"device_ips": {
  "devices": {
    "eth0": {
      "1.2.3.4": {
        "bitmask": "/24",
        "ifa_flags": "69699",
        "netmask": "255.255.255.0"
      }
    }
  }
}

---

3. Assigning a Dedicated (Owned) IP to a User

Step 1: Ensure the reseller has a free IP

Reseller Level → IP Management

If no free IP exists:

1. Go to Admin Level → IP Management.
2. Select an unassigned IP.
3. Assign it to the reseller.

Step 2: Assign the IP to the user

Reseller Level → List Users → username → Modify User

Select the free IP. If it is not shared, it becomes an owned IP.

Note: DNS propagation may take up to 4 hours.

---

4. Changing a Domain’s IP Without Downtime

Example: domain.com is currently on 1.2.3.4 and needs to move to 1.2.3.5.

Step 1: Add the new IP to the domain

User Level → Domain Setup → domain.com → Add another IP

Step 2: Update DNS records

User Level → DNS Management

• Remove all A records pointing to 1.2.3.4.
• Keep SPF TXT records if needed.

Step 3: Wait for DNS propagation (4–24 hours)

Step 4: Remove the old IP

User Level → Domain Setup → domain.com

---

5. Adding an IP to DirectAdmin Without Binding It to the System

If you want DirectAdmin to manage an IP but not bind it to the OS:

Admin Level → IP Manager → Add IP

Uncheck Add to device.

DirectAdmin stores:

add_to_device=no

---

6. Using the Multi-IP System

Since DirectAdmin 1.37.0, users can have multiple IPs (IPv4 + IPv6).

Steps:

1. The reseller must have a free IP.
2. Assign the IP to the user.
3. User assigns it to the domain:

User Level → Domain Setup → Add another IP

Note: Apache’s default page may appear for up to 4 hours due to DNS propagation.

---

7. Enabling IPv6 in DirectAdmin

Enable IPv6 support:

/usr/local/directadmin/directadmin set ipv6 1 restart
/usr/local/directadmin/dataskq d

Add IPv6 addresses just like IPv4 (without brackets).

Dual-stack mode:

• Link IPv6 to IPv4 in IP Manager.
• Assign only IPv4 to the user; IPv6 mirrors automatically.

---

8. Using Shared IPs Across Multiple Resellers

Since DirectAdmin 1.61:

Admin Level → IP Manager → Select IP → Set as global/shared

Then assign the IP to multiple resellers.

Global/shared IPs are managed only at the Admin Level.

---

9. Changing the Server’s Main IP (Server IP Swap)

If the server’s primary IP changes:

Step 1: Boot with the new IP

Step 2: Restart DirectAdmin

systemctl restart directadmin

Step 3: Run the ipswap script

cd /usr/local/directadmin/scripts
./ipswap.sh 1.2.3.4 5.6.7.8

Step 4: Restart essential services

systemctl restart pure-ftpd exim dovecot
da build rewrite_confs