How to add additional IPv4 addresses on Windows Server?

Updated: 28 September 2026 · Applies to: Self-managed dedicated servers on Windows Server

On Windows Server you add extra IPv4 addresses to the network adapter. You can do this in the graphical settings or with PowerShell. This guide shows both, how to keep an extra address from becoming the default outgoing address, and what to expect for an additional subnet that comes with its own gateway.

Before you start

Log in with Remote Desktop as Administrator. Keep the IPMI console at hand (How to get started with Console Redirection of an out-of-band-management?) in case you lose the connection.
Have the addresses, the subnet mask (for a /29 it is 255.255.255.248, for a /26 255.255.255.192, for a /24 255.255.255.0) and the gateway from the delivery message ready (How many IP addresses come with a dedicated server and what do additional subnets cost?).

Method 1: graphical settings

Press Win + R, type ncpa.cpl and press Enter.
Right-click your network adapter, choose Properties, select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click Properties.
Your main address must be set as a fixed address here. Click Advanced.
Under IP addresses click Add, enter an address and the subnet mask, and click Add again. Repeat for every address.
Click OK in all windows.

Method 2: PowerShell

Open PowerShell as Administrator.

Get-NetAdapter
Get-NetIPAddress -AddressFamily IPv4 | Format-Table InterfaceAlias,IPAddress,PrefixLength

Note the Name of the adapter (for example Ethernet). Then add the addresses:

New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -IPAddress 203.0.113.11 -PrefixLength 29 -SkipAsSource $true
New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -IPAddress 203.0.113.12 -PrefixLength 29 -SkipAsSource $true

-SkipAsSource $true keeps Windows from choosing the new address as the source of outgoing connections. Your main address stays the default. To let an extra address be the source, see How to choose the outgoing (source) IP address for a service, script or website?. For addresses added in the graphical settings, run Set-NetIPAddress -IPAddress 203.0.113.11 -SkipAsSource $true to get the same behaviour.

An additional subnet that has its own gateway

Additional subnets are delivered with their own gateway. Windows uses one default route per adapter by metric, and it does not choose a gateway by the source address of a packet. So a single adapter cannot send traffic from the main /29 through the main gateway and traffic from the additional block through the block's gateway at the same time. Choose the setup that fits:

Use the block for services that receive traffic (websites, applications that clients connect to). Add its addresses as shown above, bind the service to the address, and test from outside (How to test that every additional IP address works on your server?). Ask support to confirm that replies from the block's addresses leave correctly on your server.
Use the block as the main network of a virtual machine or a second adapter. A machine that has only addresses from the block, the block's netmask and the block's gateway works like any single-subnet machine.
Need source-based routing on one Windows server? Open a support ticket; our engineers can design it with you by the task.

Check

Get-NetIPAddress -AddressFamily IPv4 | Format-Table InterfaceAlias,IPAddress,PrefixLength,SkipAsSource
ipconfig /all
route print -4

Then test the addresses from another network: How to test that every additional IP address works on your server?. Windows Firewall blocks incoming traffic by default; create an inbound rule for the ports you want to open, and restrict it to the address if needed.

Common problems

The address does not answer a ping: Windows Firewall blocks ICMP echo by default. Allow "File and Printer Sharing (Echo Request - ICMPv4-In)" or test with a service port.
Connection lost after a change: restore the main address from the IPMI console.
Websites or applications answer on the wrong address: bind the application to the address (IIS: Site bindings, IP address).

Frequently asked questions

How many addresses can one adapter have?
Windows supports many addresses on one adapter; for large blocks use PowerShell in a loop.

How do I set reverse DNS for the addresses?
See How to set reverse DNS (PTR) for many IP addresses and check forward-confirmed rDNS?.

Need a dedicated server, more IP addresses, or a hand with the setup?

Unmanaged dedicated servers: full root access and IPv4 subnets from /29 up to /24, ordered with the server or added later.
Managed dedicated servers: our team looks after the operating system, updates, security and monitoring.
Dedicated server locations: choose the country and data centre when you order.

Prefer a hand with the setup? Our engineers can do it for you: Hire an Expert, or use our on-demand server management.