Virtual IP address
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virtual IP address (VIP or VIPA) is an IP address that is not connected to a specific computer or network interface card (NIC) on a computer. Incoming packets are sent to the VIP address, but they are redirected to physical network interfaces.
VIPs are mostly used for connection redundancy; a VIP address may still be available if a computer or NIC fails, because an alternative computer or NIC replies to connections.[1]
Abbreviated as VIPA, a virtual IP address is an IP address that is shared among multiple domain names or multiple servers. A virtual IP address eliminates a host's dependency upon individual network interfaces. Incoming packets are sent to the system's VIPA address, but all packets travel through the real network interfaces.
[edit] See also
- Virtual LAN
- CARP
- IP network multipathing (IPMP), Solaris virtual IP implementation for fault-tolerance and load balancing
