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Global Anycast IP Addresses

Equinix Metal™ Global Anycast IPs are public IPv4 addresses that are pulled from Equinix Metal-owned IP space and that can announced from any or all of Equinix Metal's Metros.

Global Anycast IP addresses can be used:

  • by assigning them as an Elastic IP address to a single server in multiple Metros.
  • OR by announcing them via Local BGP from multiple servers in multiple Metros.

If a Global Anycast IP address is not routed to or announced from any server in any Metro, the IP address will be unreachable.

Equinix Metal allows you to reserve the following subnet sizes of Global Anycast IP addresses.

Global Anycast Subnet SizeUsable IP Addresses
/321 IPv4 address
/312 IPv4 addresses
/304 IPv4 addresses

Global Anycast IP addresses are billed on a usage basis at a fixed rate per IP per hour. Bandwidth is billed at the standard outbound rate and an inbound rate per GB. Rates are available in the Equinix Metal console.

Requesting Global Anycast IP Addresses

In your Project's Networking section, open the IPs page.

Your project's current IP Addresses should be listed. To request Global Anycast IP Addresses, click + Add New.

Requesting an IP Address

From the Request IP Addresses slide out, choose Global IPv4 and the Quantity (size) of the reserved subnet. There are also fields for Tags and a Description for your use. The Custom JSON field is for custom data that you want to be included in your server's metadata.

Use the Comments field for contacting support with any information that is relevant to your request. Be aware, if you are planning to request multiple subnets, or multiple large subnets, there are quotas in place at the project-level. Support may reach out with questions about your request.

Managing Global Anycast IP Addresses

Your Project's IPs page contains a list of all the Management, Reserved, and Global Anycast subnets and IPs.

IP Address Block List for a Project

Announcing Your IP Address

Once you have been allocated your Global Anycast IPv4 address block, you have two options: to assign your new IP Addresses to a server as Elastic IPs, or by announcing them with BGP.

If you choose to bind Global Anycast IP addresses as an Elastic IP address, you can assign individual addresses to a single server in each Metro. If you attempt to assign the same IP address to more than one server in the same Metro, however, you will get an error.

If you choose to announce your Global Anycast IPs with BGP, you will need to set up and configure Local BGP. You can use BGP to assign your Global Anycast IP address to multiple servers in each Metro, so we recommend using BGP for high-availability applications.

Global Anycast IP Status

To see the status of your Global Anycast IP block, navigate to your Project's IPs page and open the Actions menu of the IP reservation you would like to manage. Click Update Block.

Global Anycast IP Status Panel

A grey circle indicates that an IP in the block is not assigned in the facility or being announced via BGP. A green circle indicates it an IP in the block is assigned or being announced in that facility. If you do not announce or bind a Global Anycast IP in one facility, we will backhaul that traffic to the next closest facility where the IP is assigned or announced. This incurs cost, which is why there is a charge for inbound transfer.

Deleting a Global Anycast IP Reservation

Deleting a reservation removes the subnet from your project. You will no longer be able to use the IP addresses for your servers.

To delete a reservation, navigate to your Project's IPs page and select the Global Anycast IP block. Click Delete.

Deleting a Global Anycast IP Menu