One Server, Two Public IPs, Two Domains – How I Did It with Vultr

Sometimes, you may want to isolate apps by IP, simulate geo-location diversity, or prepare separate API backends — all from a single VM. Thankfully, Vultr makes it possible using Reserved IPs.

Let’s walk through how you can host:

• demo1.yourdomain.com → bound to Mumbai IP
• demo2.yourdomain.com → bound to Delhi IP
  → on a single Ubuntu server.

But you want to:

• Keep everything on one server
• Assign each domain a unique static IP
• Make them look geographically distributed or separated

This tutorial walks you through how to pull this off using Vultr Reserved IPs and Nginx.

Step 1: Spin Up a Vultr VM

• Launch a VPS in Mumbai
• Choose Ubuntu 22.04
• Note the assigned IP (e.g., 65.20.91.120)

Step 2: Add a Reserved IP from Another Region

• Go to your VM → Settings → IP & DNS
• Click “Add IP Address”
• Choose Delhi as the region
• Provision the IP (e.g., 65.20.72.117)

Step 3: Configure Netplan

sudo nano /etc/netplan/10-ens3.yaml

Paste:

network:
  version: 2
  renderer: networkd
  ethernets:
    enp1s0:
      dhcp4: no
      addresses: [65.20.91.120/23, 65.20.72.117/32]
      nameservers:
        addresses: [108.61.10.10]
      routes:
        - to: default
          via: 65.20.90.1
        - to: 169.254.0.0/16
          via: 65.20.90.1
          metric: 100

Then run:

sudo chmod 600 /etc/netplan/10-ens3.yaml
sudo netplan apply

Step 4: Restart the Server (Important)

Use the “Restart” button in Vultr dashboard. This activates routing on the new IP.

Step 5: Configure DNS Records

Use Cloudflare (or your registrar’s DNS):

Step 6: Install and Configure Nginx

sudo apt update && sudo apt install nginx -y

Create Site Folders:

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/demo1.yourdomain.com
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/demo2.yourdomain.com

echo "Hello from Mumbai" | sudo tee /var/www/demo1.yourdomain.com/index.html
echo "Hello from Delhi" | sudo tee /var/www/demo2.yourdomain.com/index.html

Create Nginx Configs:

demo1.yourdomain.com

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/demo1.yourdomain.com

server {
    listen 80 default_server;
    server_name demo1.yourdomain.com;
    root /var/www/demo1.yourdomain.com;
    index index.html;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }
}

demo2.yourdomain.com

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/demo2.yourdomain.com

server {
    listen 65.20.72.117:80;
    server_name demo2.yourdomain.com;
    root /var/www/demo2.yourdomain.com;
    index index.html;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }
}

Enable Both Sites:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/demo1.yourdomain.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/demo2.yourdomain.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

🧪 Step 7: Test with Ping

🖥 From Local PC:

C:\Users\Admin1>ping demo1.yourdomain.com

Pinging demo1.yourdomain.com [65.20.91.120] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 65.20.91.120: bytes=32 time=14ms TTL=53
Reply from 65.20.91.120: bytes=32 time=14ms TTL=53
Reply from 65.20.91.120: bytes=32 time=14ms TTL=53
Reply from 65.20.91.120: bytes=32 time=14ms TTL=53

Ping statistics for 65.20.91.120:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss)

C:\Users\Admin1>ping demo2.yourdomain.com

Pinging demo2.yourdomain.com [65.20.72.117] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 65.20.72.117: bytes=32 time=14ms TTL=53
Reply from 65.20.72.117: bytes=32 time=14ms TTL=53
Reply from 65.20.72.117: bytes=32 time=14ms TTL=53
Reply from 65.20.72.117: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=53

Ping statistics for 65.20.72.117:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss)

Optional: Add Free SSL with Certbot

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y
sudo certbot --nginx -d demo1.yourdomain.com -d demo2.yourdomain.com

DNS Only vs Cloudflare Proxy — What the End User Sees

Why Use DNS Only?

• You need port 80 open for SSL certs
• You want users to hit your real server directly
• Ideal for testing and multi-IP routing

Why Use Cloudflare Proxy?

• Hides your server’s IP
• Adds DDoS protection, caching, firewall

Conclusion

You now have:

• Two working domains
• Two static IPs (Mumbai + Delhi)
• One Nginx server serving both cleanly
• Clear routing, low latency, and perfect separation

This setup is perfect for devs, startups, or side projects looking to save infrastructure costs without compromising on structure.