Dynamic DNS

Dynamic DNS service is used to keep a domain name pointing to the same computer or server connected to the Internet despite the fact that the address (IP address) of the computer keeps changing. This service is useful to anyone who wants to operate a server (web server, mail server, ftp server, irc server etc) connected to the Internet with a dynamic IP or for someone who wants to connect to an office computer or server from a remote location with software such as pcAnywhere.

To setup your Dynamic DNS, please do the following:

1. Log into your ZoneEdit account
2. Click on the DNS link

3. Click on the wrench tool for DYN RECORDS

4. Specify your HOST and TTL
5. Click on ENABLE for your DYN AUTHENTICATION TOKEN

6. Click on NEXT

7. Confirm the changes

Once you've set up your Dynamic DNS service correctly both within your ZoneEdit account and within your router/dyn client (see below), you should see updates within your DNS Settings page:

Setting Up Your System To Use Dynamic DNS

There are a number of different ways to make dynamic updates and they are all dependent on your local setup. They break down into two basic types:

Hardware Based Options
Many routers have an option to enable dynamic updates. This can be very convenient, as the router is always the first place the IP address change makes itself known. Some of these include ZoneEdit/easyDNS as one of their options, and you need only select it from the menu they provide. Others allow you to enter the settings for your dynamic server.

Here are the basic parameters you will need:

• Server address (http://api.cp.zoneedit.com OR dynamic.zoneedit.com)
• Host name (your domain name)
• User name (your ZoneEdit username)
• Password (this should be your dynamic token mentioned earlier)

If your router does not include ZoneEdit or allow you to enter your own parameters, you will want to use a software-based updater.

Software Based Options
There are dozens or more different options available for software based dynamic updates. The following are the ones we are currently recommending:

• Command Line
  Zoneedit customer rjwhite created a perl script - details at https://github.com/rjwhite/update-ddns
• Mac Systems
  We currently provide our own custom updater for Mac-based servers (OS 10), which can be downloaded directly from our system. Please go HERE for further details.
• Linux Systems
  For Linux, Sourceforge provides an excellent update client for Linux called ddclient. One of our clients has written a nice java-based client that runs on Linux and can be downloaded from their project site HERE.
• Windows Systems
  There’s a very nice piece of software called Dynsite, which continues to be maintained by its creator Noel Danjou. You can download it HERE. For a walkthrough on installing and configuring it, please see the Dynsite tutorial HERE.