--- name: vpc-par-about title: Getting started with public address ranges description: A public address range is a contiguous set of public IPs that you can reserve and bind to a VPC in an availability zone. last-updated: 2026-08-27 --- > ## Documentation Index > The table of contents for this documentation set is at https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?format=markdown > The index for all IBM Cloud docs is at: https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/llms.txt > Use these files to discover more information as needed. # Getting started with public address ranges {: #about-par} A public address range is a contiguous set of public IPs that you can reserve and bind to a VPC in an availability zone. {: shortdesc} You can create public address ranges by using IBM-managed public IP address pools. You can route traffic destined for addresses in the range to a target resource in the VPC, such as a virtual server instance, virtual network function (VNF), or other compute resource. For example, you can configure public ingress routing to send the destination IP range to a VNF appliance next-hop. Response traffic from the target retains the original source IP as it exits the VPC, ensuring that return traffic isn't dropped. For more information about configuring ingress routing, see [About routing tables and routes](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-about-custom-routes&interface=api&format=markdown). ## Key capabilities and benefits {: #par-feature-capabilities} Public address ranges help support scalable, secure, and highly available network architectures. Contiguous IP Range : A public address range provides a continuous set of public IPs for scalable and manageable routing and security policies. Resource Management : Public address ranges can simplify access control and security while enabling a single public ingress route to inspect traffic from multiple endpoints and secure enterprise applications on the VPC. Scalability : When additional public IP addresses are required, you can reserve a larger prefix instead of managing individual addresses. High Availability : Public address ranges are regional resources that can be moved between VPCs and availability zones to support high availability and disaster recovery designs. ## Getting started {: #par-getting-started} Before you begin, review [Planning considerations for public address ranges](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-par-planning&format=markdown). ### IPv4 {: #par-getting-started-ipv4} Follow these steps to get started with IPv4 public address ranges. 1. Ensure that you have [created a VPC](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-getting-started&interface=ui&format=markdown#create-and-configure-vpc) and all the needed resources (if not already present). 1. [Create your public address range](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-par-creating&interface=ui&format=markdown). 1. [Bind, unbind, and move public address ranges](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-par-unbinding-binding&interface=ui&format=markdown) after creating a public address range. 1. [Configure an ingress routing table for your VPC](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-about-custom-routes&interface=ui&format=markdown) by adding routes that direct traffic to the next-hop IP of the target appliance, using the public IP address range as the destination. These routes direct public internet traffic to a next-hop within the VPC, such as a Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) instance, router, firewall, or load balancer. The next-hop IP must be an IP address that is bound to a network interface on a subnet in the route's zone for ingress routing. {: note} ## Related links {: #par-related-links} - [Use cases for public address ranges](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-par-use-cases&format=markdown) - - - [IAM roles and actions](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/iam?topic=iam-iam-service-roles-actions&format=markdown#is.public-address-range-roles) - [Quotas](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-quotas&format=markdown#par-quotas) and [service limits](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-quotas&format=markdown#service-limits-for-vpc-services) - [FAQ](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-faq-public-address-ranges&format=markdown) - [Known issues](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-par-known-issues&format=markdown) - [Troubleshooting](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?group=tbs-par&format=markdown)