Talk to enough SaaS infrastructure teams and the same story comes up: nobody planned for running out of IP addresses. Engineering is busy shipping product, the cloud footprint doubles every year or so, and then one day someone realizes the \/24 that seemed generous in year one (256 addresses, after all) is nearly spent. Delayed launches, ballooning NAT costs, panic-buying at premium prices. All of it avoidable with a bit of foresight.<\/p>\n
SaaS growth is unpredictable by nature. A successful product launch, a large enterprise onboarding, a new regional deployment \u2014 any of these can spike address consumption overnight. And several forces tend to pile up at once:<\/p>\n
Good planning starts with an honest demand model. Work backward from your infrastructure roadmap, not from what you’re using today. Those are different numbers, and the gap is where teams get burned.<\/p>\n
Inventory every current consumer of public address space, then project growth for each category. Something like this:<\/p>\n
| Address Consumer<\/th>\n | Current Usage<\/th>\n | Growth Driver<\/th>\n | 24-Month Projection<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Load balancers \/ ingress<\/td>\n | 32 IPs<\/td>\n | 2x traffic growth<\/td>\n | 64 IPs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | |||||||||||||||
| Dedicated tenant IPs<\/td>\n | 64 IPs<\/td>\n | Enterprise tier expansion<\/td>\n | 256 IPs (\/24)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | |||||||||||||||
| Email sending pools<\/td>\n | 16 IPs<\/td>\n | Marketing volume<\/td>\n | 48 IPs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | |||||||||||||||
| Cloud region expansion<\/td>\n | 128 IPs<\/td>\n | 2 new regions<\/td>\n | 384 IPs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | |||||||||||||||
| Reserve \/ headroom<\/td>\n | \u2014<\/td>\n | 25% buffer<\/td>\n | 190 IPs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\nPlan in Prefix Sizes, Not Single Addresses<\/h3>\nNobody trades single addresses. Space moves in CIDR blocks \u2014 \/24 (256 addresses), \/23 (512), \/22 (1,024) and up. Plan your acquisition in those units, and model with a 20\u201330% buffer. The pattern is consistent: teams that underestimate consumption end up fragmenting their space and complicating routing.<\/p>\n Tip:<\/strong> Align acquisitions with prefix boundaries you can route cleanly. A single \/22 is far easier to advertise, split, and manage than four scattered \/24s picked up at different times from different sellers.<\/div>\n Acquiring IPv4 Space: Lease vs. Buy<\/h2>\nThe free pools at ARIN, RIPE, and the other RIRs ran dry long ago. That leaves growing companies three realistic paths: transfer purchases, leasing, or renegotiating with cloud providers. For most SaaS operators, the choice comes down to capital and time horizon.<\/p>\n Buying via Transfer<\/h3>\nPurchasing blocks through the transfer market gets you a permanent asset. Prices have hovered in the $30\u2013$50 per address range in recent years, so a \/24 typically runs $8,000\u2013$13,000. Transfers require RIR approval and clean documentation \u2014 working with a marketplace that verifies seller legitimacy and handles escrow cuts the risk substantially. IP4 Market, for example, specializes in verified transfers with transparent pricing, which makes it a sensible option for companies buying their first blocks.<\/p>\n Leasing<\/h3>\nLeasing fits companies with uncertain demand or tight capital. Rates typically run $0.30\u2013$0.60 per address per month \u2014 roughly $75\u2013$150\/month for a \/24. Ideal for short-term projects, regional pilots, or bridging demand until a purchase is budgeted. IP4 Market also offers lease options with vetted block owners, so you’re not gambling on unverifiable listings.<\/p>\n Which Is Right for You?<\/h3>\n
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