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Hosting provider Selectel added a new addressing type to its control panel. Clients can now connect virtual machines directly to the internet, bypassing Network Address Translation (NAT). This new option targets scenarios where application architecture requires direct access or when an entire service resides on a single machine.
The Price of a Personal Address
Previously, obtaining direct access required renting an entire public subnet. This resembled buying a whole floor just to secure one room. Now, users simply select the required address type during virtual machine creation. Traffic management proceeds through standard security groups. The cost of a direct public IP stands at $2.20 per month.
The Mailbox Analogy
NAT operation resembles life in a dormitory where one hundred rooms share a single mailbox on the ground floor. Letters arrive there, and the building manager distributes them to recipients. It is cheap and saves space, but it creates delays and confusion. A direct public IP is a personal mailbox nailed directly to your apartment door. Couriers deliver packages without intermediaries. This proves critical for certain communication protocols and game servers that cannot function through a "building manager."
Such changes simplify life for developers tired of fighting through layers of address translation. The provider turned a premium function into a mass-market option with a clear price tag. One can only hope users will employ personal addresses responsibly, as the absence of a NAT layer also means the loss of an additional protection barrier against port scanning.