# Dedicated IP: Definition and How It Works

Source: https://wraps.dev/glossary/dedicated-ip

Deliverabilitydedicated sending IPprivate sending IP

A dedicated IP is a sending IP address assigned to a single sender rather than shared across many, meaning its reputation is entirely and exclusively yours to build and protect.

## What you're actually buying

AWS SES offers dedicated IPs as a paid add-on, and a dedicated IP pool can be assigned to a specific configuration set so different traffic types (transactional versus marketing, for instance) send from different dedicated IPs with independently tracked reputations. That separation is the main operational reason to reach for one — isolating a risky sending program from mail that absolutely has to land reliably.

## Reputation is all yours, for better or worse

Every message sent from a dedicated IP contributes to that IP's reputation, and nothing else does — there's no shared pool of other senders' good behavior to fall back on if your own volume is inconsistent or your content quality dips. That cuts both ways: consistent, well-managed sending on a dedicated IP builds a reputation that isn't affected by anyone else's mistakes, but sparse or spiky sending never gives mailbox providers enough signal to trust it.

## It needs warming, and it needs consistent volume to stay warm

A newly provisioned dedicated IP starts with zero history and needs a gradual ramp-up (see IP warming) before it can carry full volume. After warming, a dedicated IP also needs sustained, reasonably consistent sending volume to hold its reputation — long gaps followed by a volume spike can cause providers to treat it almost as if it were cold again.

## It's the wrong choice below a certain volume

Below roughly tens of thousands of messages a month, most senders don't generate enough consistent volume to keep a dedicated IP properly warm, and a dedicated IP with sparse sending often performs worse than a well-managed shared pool that benefits from aggregate reputation across many senders. Dedicated IPs earn their cost at genuine, consistent scale, not as a default upgrade.

## Why it matters

A dedicated IP trades the safety net of shared reputation for full control — the right trade at real, consistent volume where isolating your traffic from other senders' behavior matters, and the wrong one below that volume where you'd be building reputation from scratch with too little traffic to build it well.

## How to check it

```
aws sesv2 list-dedicated-ip-pools
```

## Common questions

### When does a dedicated IP make sense over SES's shared pool?

Roughly at consistent, meaningful volume — tens of thousands of messages a month or more — where isolating your reputation from other senders, or separating transactional from marketing traffic onto different pools, becomes worth the cost and the warming effort.

### Does a dedicated IP need ongoing maintenance after warming?

Yes. It needs sustained, reasonably consistent sending volume to hold its reputation — a long gap followed by a volume spike can make mailbox providers treat it almost as if it were cold again, undoing much of the original warming effort.

### Can I use different dedicated IPs for different types of mail?

Yes, by assigning a dedicated IP pool to a specific configuration set. This is a common way to keep a risky marketing program's reputation from affecting transactional mail that has to land reliably, since each pool's reputation is tracked independently.