Dynamic DNS confusion

I don't get it.

Why do people have dynDNS thingys?

Is it just for the home-server kind of thing, or can It be used in conjunction with other web hosting services?

Explanation required,
~weed

I am currenntly trying to get it to work for myself for a serving a website out of my basement. With that ISPConfig software I could actually run an ISP out of there! That's way above me at this point though. All dynDNS really does is take my dyanmic IP and "make" it static for someone typing in my address. At least that's the way I understand it. With all this NAT crap though it is very problematic to get it to work. And I thought it wasgoing to be a bit better since my router has a dynDNS setting. I am almost wondering if it is worth it rather than paying a company to host my page, but I guess I would not have had the experience. That's my take...

I think I get it.

So, it makes dynamic ip addresses static, but then what about the static-dns services they supply?

Cool, I would love to make a home server to host my site, but it would be a lot of work (by the sounds of it).
~weed

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ThoughtVelocity

And I thought it wasgoing to be a bit better since my router has a dynDNS setting.

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Beware that any dynDNS setting for any d-LINK branded router doesn't work anymore.

Myself I use "ddclient" to update my IP to dynDNS.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Weedman

So, it makes dynamic ip addresses static, but then what about the static-dns services they supply?

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As for static DNS, it is intended for people with static IP addresses. Check out here for details:
https://www.dyndns.com/services/

[quote=antidrugue]Beware that any dynDNS setting for any d-LINK branded router doesn't work anymore.

DAMN! That explains a lot. I have been beating my head against a wall the last couple days trying to get this to work. Thanks for the tip! Is the ddclient working ok for you?

Yes ddclient works very nicely, but somehow ddclient config wizard cannot generate a valid /etc/ddclient.conf file -- one that will work behind the router.

I had to write one manualy using the instructions on dynDNS site's.

As an example, here is my /etc/ddclient.conf file, that works behind a d-LINK router (on Debian Sarge):

Code:

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pid=/var/run/ddclient.pid
protocol=dyndns2
use=web, web=checkip.dyndns.org/, web-skip='IP Address'
server=members.dyndns.org
login=myusername
password=mypassword
mydomain.dyndns.org

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To make it work properly, I have an /etc/default/ddclient file as well:

Code:

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run_ipup="false"

# Set to "true" if ddclient should run in daemon mode
run_daemon="true"

# Set the time interval between the updates of the dynamic DNS name in seconds.
# This option only takes effect if the ddclient runs in daemon mode.
daemon_interval="36h"

---

That's it!

Check /var/log/syslog.0 to see if everything is ok once it is set up.

Code:

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cat /var/log/syslog.0 | grep -i ddclient

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antidrugue,

Did you have any problems accessing your web pages locally? My D-Link keeps giving me a "401 The Web site is blocked by administrator". I just updated my ddclient file and checked my firewall settings, but I don't get it.

I think i finally get it.

The last question: Can you assign a dns thingy to your own hosted website (thru a subdomain)?
~weed

Yes you can, I do that using freedns.afraid.org, (but other providers may also work...)

For example, www.mydomain.com goes to my webhost, and mail.mydomain.com goes to my box at home, which is configured using dynamic dns.

Then I set up the mx record for my domain as mail.mydomain.com and opened port 25 on my router, so I can use my Linux PC at home as a mail server.

I've also opened port 80 for Apache, so I can get my mail using webmail. :)

To continue this discussion and some problems I am having... This dynDNS thing and my router are not cooperating. See above post plus I cannot access my webpage from any other location as well as at home. Not on on the network it times out and at home I get a blocked by a 401 administrator error. I suspect it may be my router. Does any one have consistent success with a particular router? I am currently using a DLink 514 model. How do I test to see where the problem is. I am so close.