IPv4 vs IPv6 on Dedicated Servers: What UK Businesses Need to [...]

📅 August 14, 2026 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LONDON, UK – eServers, a prominent provider of dedicated server hosting, has released a comprehensive guide detailing the critical differences between IPv4 and IPv6 addressing protocols. The guide aims to assist systems administrators and business owners in understanding how IP versioning directly impacts hosting costs, email deliverability, and SEO.



Every server on the internet requires an IP address, functioning much like a postal address for digital data. The original system, IPv4, was built in the early 1980s using a 32-bit format. The fundamental flaw of IPv4 is its limitation to approximately 4.3 billion possible addresses. Because these addresses ran out years ago, they are now a scarce resource that must be bought or leased, which is reflected in modern hosting prices.

"Despite its scarcity, almost every dedicated server still ships with at least one IPv4 address by default," the eServers report notes. "Most of the internet—including old software, corporate networks, and many APIs—still heavily depends on it."

The Rise of IPv6 and the Necessity of Dual Stack

To resolve the address shortage, IPv6 was created using a 128-bit format, making the number of possible addresses effectively unlimited. It also provides built-in efficiency improvements for routing. However, because global IPv6 adoption remains uneven, eServers strongly advocates for a dual stack approach—running both IPv4 and IPv6 simultaneously.



The advisory details several operational realities:

* Email Deliverability: A dedicated IPv4 address with a clean history remains the gold standard for reliable email sending.

* SEO and Geo-targeting: Search engines continue to key heavily off IPv4 ranges to determine the physical location of a server.

* Network Segmentation: IPv6 removes address management headaches for large-scale internal infrastructure, such as containers or IoT endpoints.



Furthermore, the guide emphasizes that an IP address is only as good as the underlying network. eServers operates its own Autonomous System (AS42831) with direct peering at major UK internet exchanges, ensuring low latency routing regardless of the IP version utilized.



For a complete breakdown of IPv4 pricing structures and architectural advice, the full guide is available on the eServers blog.