Last updated: 2026-04-17
Dedicated IP addresses solve real connectivity problems. Site-to-site VPNs need them. Custom applications depend on them. Certain compliance configurations require them.
But dedicated IPs introduce a security gap that most organizations don’t discover until an auditor flags it or, worse, something gets through.
The issue is architectural. A standard cloud firewall protects shared traffic. Dedicated IPs, by definition, bypass that standard firewall. The workload sits on the open internet with no filtering layer between it and anyone who wants to probe it.
V2 Cloud now offers dedicated firewalls built specifically to close this gap. One firewall per data center, covering every dedicated IP you have in that location, with full control over permissions staying in your hands.
Key Takeaways
- Dedicated IPs bypass standard cloud firewalls, exposing workloads directly to the internet.
- A dedicated firewall consolidates users behind one IP per data center for $108 USD/month total.
- Users who previously needed individual dedicated IPs can share a single IP behind the firewall.
- Dedicated firewalls satisfy cyber insurance and audit requirements around open ports.
- You retain full control over firewall rules and permissions.
What Happens When a Dedicated IP Bypasses Your Firewall
Most cloud desktop providers include a standard firewall. That firewall works. For shared infrastructure and standard cloud desktop traffic, it filters connections, blocks unauthorized access, and keeps your environment protected.
Dedicated IPs operate differently. When your workload needs a fixed, static address (for a site-to-site VPN, a custom application, or a specific regulatory configuration) that address sits outside the standard firewall perimeter. Traffic to and from that IP touches the public internet directly.
This is not a theoretical risk. Open ports on a dedicated IP are visible to anyone running a port scan. Automated bots probe public-facing IPs constantly. According to the Verizon 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report, exploitation of internet-facing infrastructure remains one of the top three initial access vectors in confirmed breaches.
For organizations that carry cyber insurance, auditors will flag open ports as a documented liability. Many policies now include specific language requiring firewall protection on all public-facing IP addresses. Failing that check doesn’t just mean a finding on a report. It can affect your coverage terms or your premium.
The gap is clear. You need the dedicated IP for connectivity. You also need a firewall between that IP and everything else.
How Dedicated Firewalls Close the Gap
The architecture behind this is deliberate and efficient.
One Firewall Per Data Center
Rather than provisioning a separate dedicated IP for every user who needs one (which gets expensive fast), the firewall model consolidates. V2 Cloud provisions one dedicated firewall per data center. Users who previously each required their own dedicated IP can now share a single dedicated IP behind that firewall.
A dedicated firewall lets multiple users share one protected IP instead of each needing their own unprotected one. That one sentence is the entire value proposition. You buy fewer IPs, and the ones you keep are actually protected.
This consolidation is what flips the economics. Ten users in a data center don’t need ten dedicated IPs anymore. They need one IP and one firewall. In more traditional infrastructure environments, this is also where IPv4 leasing models become relevant, since organizations often source additional addresses through external allocation providers instead of provisioning separate static IPs for every individual user.
Full Visibility and Control
Handing off firewall management to a provider can feel like giving up control. That’s not what happens here.
Your security team retains full control over firewall permissions. You decide which ports are open, which sources are allowed, and what traffic gets through. The firewall is yours to manage. We handle the infrastructure. You handle the policy.
For organizations with in-house IT or a managed service provider handling their secure remote access, the firewall integrates into your existing security posture without introducing a new dependency.
If you want to see how our security and compliance stack works alongside dedicated firewalls, review our data security overview.
Talk to a cloud expert about dedicated firewalls
Four Problems Dedicated Firewalls Solve
Not every organization needs a dedicated firewall. But the ones that do tend to fall into specific categories. Here’s what the use cases actually look like.
Site-to-Site VPN Protection
A site-to-site VPN connects your office network to your cloud environment through an encrypted tunnel. That tunnel terminates at a dedicated IP. Without a firewall in front of that IP, the entry point to your VPN is exposed to the public internet.
The firewall adds the missing filter. Traffic to the VPN endpoint gets screened before it enters the tunnel.
Cyber Insurance and Audit Compliance
Auditors look for open ports. Cyber insurance underwriters look for open ports. If your dedicated IP has publicly accessible services without firewall protection, that becomes a line item in your audit findings and, in some cases, a reason for coverage denial.
A dedicated firewall closes those ports cleanly. The documentation is straightforward: here is the firewall, here are the rules, here is the access log.
Custom Application Hosting
Some workloads require specific connectivity configurations that a shared firewall can’t accommodate. Custom applications with unique port requirements, specialized integrations, or non-standard protocols often need a dedicated IP.
Before dedicated firewalls were available, deploying these applications meant accepting the security exposure. Now, the IP can be dedicated and protected at the same time. If you’re hosting business-critical applications in the cloud, this changes the risk calculation. Our Desktop as a Service platform supports these configurations.
Multi-User Cost Consolidation
Organizations that previously bought a dedicated IP for every user who needed one were paying $5 USD per IP per month. Ten users meant $50/month in IP costs alone, all unprotected. With a dedicated firewall, those ten users share a single IP behind a firewall. The total drops from $50/month (unprotected) to $108/month (protected).
The more users you consolidate, the bigger the gap between what you were spending and what you spend now.
What This Costs (and Why It Can Actually Save You Money)
Pricing transparency matters, especially for security infrastructure. Here’s the breakdown.
| Component | Monthly Cost (USD) |
|---|---|
| Dedicated IP address | $5 per IP |
| Dedicated firewall | $103 per data center |
The pricing only makes sense once you understand what the firewall changes about your IP requirements. Here’s a concrete example.
Before dedicated firewalls: You have 10 users in a data center who each need a dedicated IP. That’s 10 IPs at $5 each, totaling $50 USD/month. Every one of those IPs is directly exposed to the open internet. No firewall protection.
After dedicated firewalls: Those 10 users can share a single dedicated IP behind the firewall. One IP ($5) plus one firewall ($103) equals $108 USD/month. All 10 users are now protected.
The net increase over the old unprotected setup is $58/month. You’re paying $58 more and getting firewall coverage for everyone. Not a bad trade.
Now scale it across data centers. Say you have 100 users spread across 3 data centers. Under the old model, that’s 100 dedicated IPs at $5 each: $500 USD/month, all unprotected. With dedicated firewalls, you need 3 IPs ($15) plus 3 firewalls ($309), totaling $324 USD/month. You save $176/month compared to the old model, and you’re actually protected this time.
| Scenario | Old Model (No Firewall) | New Model (With Firewall) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 users, 1 data center | $50/mo (10 IPs, unprotected) | $108/mo (1 IP + 1 firewall) | +$58/mo, now protected |
| 50 users, 1 data center | $250/mo (50 IPs, unprotected) | $108/mo (1 IP + 1 firewall) | -$142/mo savings + protection |
| 100 users, 3 data centers | $500/mo (100 IPs, unprotected) | $324/mo (3 IPs + 3 firewalls) | -$176/mo savings + protection |
At small scale, you pay slightly more for protection. At moderate scale, the firewall pays for itself. At larger scale, you spend less than before and get full firewall coverage. The crossover point sits around 22 users per data center, where the cost of one IP plus one firewall equals what you’d pay for 22 individual IPs without protection.
Compare that to the alternative: paying more for unprotected IPs and hoping nothing finds them. According to IBM’s 2025 Cost of a Data Breach report, the average cost of a data breach for organizations with fewer than 500 employees exceeded $3.3 million USD.
Want to see how dedicated firewalls fit into your current setup? Check our pricing page for the latest plan details.
Who Needs a Dedicated Firewall
Not every V2 Cloud client needs this. Our standard firewall covers the majority of use cases. Dedicated firewalls apply to a specific set of requirements.
You need a dedicated firewall if:
- You operate a site-to-site VPN between your office network and your cloud environment
- You’re subject to cyber insurance requirements that flag open ports
- You deploy custom applications that need specific port configurations on a dedicated IP
- You have multiple users who each require a dedicated IP in the same data center and want to consolidate them behind a single protected IP
You probably don’t need a dedicated firewall if:
- Your cloud desktops operate on shared infrastructure with no dedicated IP requirements
- Your connectivity needs are fully met by the standard firewall
- You don’t run VPN tunnels or custom applications that require a fixed address
The dividing line is the dedicated IP itself. If you have one (or plan to), a firewall should be part of that conversation from day one.
Not sure whether your setup needs dedicated firewall protection? Talk to one of our cloud experts and walk through your architecture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why do dedicated IP addresses bypass the standard firewall?
Dedicated IPs are provisioned outside the shared firewall perimeter because they require a fixed, static address for specific connectivity configurations. The standard firewall covers shared cloud desktop traffic, not dedicated endpoints with unique routing requirements.
Q: How many users can share one dedicated IP behind a firewall?
There is no hard limit. One dedicated firewall per data center lets all users in that location share a single dedicated IP. Whether you have 10 users or 100, a single IP and firewall combination handles all of them.
Q: What does a dedicated firewall cost?
A dedicated firewall costs $103 USD/month per data center. You also need at least one dedicated IP at $5 USD/month. Because users share that IP behind the firewall, the total for a single data center is $103 USD/month regardless of user count. Previously, each user needed their own dedicated IP at $5 each.
Q: Do I need a dedicated firewall for a site-to-site VPN?
Yes. Site-to-site VPNs terminate at a dedicated IP. Without a firewall in front of that IP, the VPN endpoint is exposed to the public internet. A dedicated firewall adds the filtering layer that keeps the entry point protected.
Q: Can I manage the firewall rules myself?
Yes. You retain full control over firewall permissions, including which ports are open and which source addresses are allowed. We provide the infrastructure. Your team sets the policy.
Q: Will a single firewall per data center create a performance bottleneck?
No. The firewall is provisioned to handle the traffic load for all dedicated IPs in the data center. The architecture is designed to aggregate without introducing latency or throughput constraints.
Q: Does a dedicated firewall help with cyber insurance compliance?
It does. Cyber insurance audits frequently flag open ports on public-facing IPs. A dedicated firewall closes those ports and provides documentation (rules, access logs) that satisfies typical audit requirements.
Q: What if I only have one user who needs a dedicated IP?
The firewall still makes sense. One dedicated IP ($5/month) plus one firewall ($103/month) totals $108 USD/month for a fully protected setup. As you add more users in that data center, they share the same IP and firewall at no additional cost.
