An allocated IP address is remapped from a first virtual machine to a second virtual machine while maintaining existing client connections on the first virtual machine. A communication channel is established between the first and second virtual machines, and existing connections associated with the IP address are tracked. Packets addressed to the IP address are forwarded to the second virtual machine instead of the first machine. If the second virtual machine receives a packet that contains a new connection request, the new connection is established with the second virtual machine. However, if the second virtual machine receives a packet that is associated with an existing connection to the first virtual machine, then the packet is forwarded to the first virtual machine via the communication channel.