The purpose of Domain Name Service (DNS) servers is to resolve the domain names to their IP addresses. Doing so means that you don’t have to remember the IP addresses of every website as you can simply type the name of a resource such as www.website.com for visiting a page. DDNS, or Dynamic DNS as it is commonly known, is basically a service that enables you to offer domain name services to a host without a static address. Small businesses or homes make use of DDNS who use a broadband connection for their webcams, web servers and home networks as the provider is in the habit of changing the IP address regularly.
Here are the steps that you can follow for setting up a dynamic DNS server:
1- Sign up with a free dynamic DNS service provider, such as Dynu.com that offers free dynamic DNS service for both third level domain names (domains offered by the provider such as yourdomain.dynu.com) and top level domain names (yourdomain.com). DDNS providers are those companies that specialize in providing dynamic DNS services. Depending on the type of service you need and the provider you have consulted, a dynamic DNS account can be paid or free of cost as well. The provider’s website is used for creating a DNS account.
2- The provider will give you some instructions for setting up your DDNs address and they should be carefully followed as they can be different, depending on the type of account and companies. Considering whether your account is paid or free, the DDNS provider may enable you to set up DNS forwarding to a domain that belongs to you or they may also give you the option of choosing a dynamic DNS address that’s based on your domain and username from a wide array of domain names.
3- The DDNS provider also offers some tools, which you should download and install. When a subscriber has installed an application on their computer, the DDNS provider uses the app for keeping track of any changes in the IP addresses. As soon as you start using the application, it will begin communicating with the DDNS provider for updating it about the current IP address. In this way, the DDNS provider is able to map the address correctly.
4- If needed, port forward should be enabled on your broadband router. If a server is being hosted with the DDNS provider such as a FTP server, game or web, port forwarding has to be enabled for ensuring that the incoming internet traffic is being directed to the right computer on the network. The router’s documentation should be consulted about how port forwarding can be enabled as the process tends to vary between different manufacturers and models.
However, you should bear in mind that there are some advanced broadband routers available these days, which you can use for setting up dynamic DNS directly on your router. This means that you will no longer be required to run and install the dynamic DNS updater on your PC as the router will handle this task. Therefore, don’t forget to consult the documentation of the router to check if it supports dynamic DNS and how it can be set up.