How to change the primary IP addres of a cPanel server

Log in to SSH, and do the following:

Edit /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0

Change the IPADDR and GATEWAY lines to match the new IP and Gateway for the new ip


Edit /etc/sysconfig/network
Change the GATEWAY line here if it does not exist in the ifcfg-* file.


Edit /etc/ips
Remove the new primary IP from this file if it is present
Add the old primary IP to this file with the format ::


Edit /var/cpanel/mainip
Replace the old primary IP with the new primary IP


Edit /etc/hosts
Replace the old primary IP with the new one if needed. The hostname's dns will need to be updated too


Restart the network service to make the new IP the primary
service network restart
Note: You're probably going to be disconnected at this point, and have to log in to ssh using the new primary ip.


Restart the ipaliases script to bring up the additional IP
service ipaliases restart


Run ifconfig and make sure all IPs show up correctly


Update the cpanel license to the new primary IP


Verify you can still log in to WHM and there is no license warning
Verify cPanel