If you have a domain registered under Namecheap, you dynamically update the IP address to a remote computer at no extra costs. If you use no-ip.com, you have to pay $29.95/yr to use your own domain name.
However, the process is not entirely trivial because Namecheap only offers the dynamic update through its BasicDNS nameserver, which has a few implications
- BasicDNS nameserver means you configure the DNS records directly Advanced DNS tab when you manage your domain name. DNS records in the Zone Editor in cPanel is not active with BasicDNS nameserver.
- Subdomains in cPanel enters DNS record in the Zone Editor, so once you use the BasicDNS nameserver, you must add the A record for the subdomain AFTER creating it in cPanel (cPanel only manages the file the subdomain physically points to, you are on your own with DNS setup)
- If you use the domain name with Namecheap hosting services, you can no longer have everything configured for you (managed in cPanel’s Zone Editor) by choosing Namecheap Web Hosting nameserver. You have to transfer the DNS record in Zone Editor (cPanel) manually to Advanced DNS tab (Namecheap). At minimum, get the IP address of the HTTP server and enter it as the ‘A Record’ for the main/sub-domain.
- Setting up subdomain name or root domain name to be used with Dynamic DNS update service is simply entering ‘A Record’ with an any IP address as seed ‘Value’ (subdomains entered as ‘Host’). The value (IP address) will be overwritten by the update service/client.
Namecheap also offer an eye candy called ‘A + Dynamic DNS Record’ which is exactly the same thing but makes it easier for you to remind yourself that the ‘A Record’ is specifically used for dynamic DNS update.
It’s a daunting task if you haven’t done the work to understand how DNS record works since there are lots of new terms to learn.
However, it’s not that hard after you understand what ‘A Record’ does: map the domain name (or its subdomains) to an IP address. All Namecheap did is providing a web server (using REST API that accepts user inputs with certain syntax in the URL) that updates your ‘A Record’ (domain to IP address map).
Have you looked into, tried cloud dns (.net)
I know it’s changed a bit but they have a free level but I have them as my registar for my domain to give them money.
You can turn on dynamic updates to any A record and there are different methods update it. I use the method of pulling a certain URL updates the record.Report
Thanks for the pointer. I haven’t used ClouDNS before. Updating the A-record with the REST API provided by your domain register is what’s DDNS clients do under the hood. I just tried ClouDNS and found out that they have very little DDNS update client support! It’s a hard no for average users. Their instructions is to create a perl script that runs as a Windows Task, which sucks ass: https://www.cloudns.net/wiki/article/37/ At least for Namecheap, their free client is usable and major free and open source router firmwares kinda support it (only FreshTomato works correctly right out of the box. It’s… Read more »
The instructions they give can seem a bit confusing but the actual process is dead simple. As long as you’ve got two things, it’ll work and doesn’t need direct support. Something that will go to a given URL Kind of 1a, if an appliance, ability to specify the URL, like custom entry, etc. So for me I got wget for windows, it just goes to the specified URL and terminates and they have an example in the guide. Synology doesn’t support ClouDNS directly but does have a custom option. I gave it the URL, didn’t bother with any of the… Read more »
Thanks. I am aware that I can use curl or wget, but it’s generally bad practice to have your DDNS login and password/token explicitly spelled out in plain sight (by hard-coding the URL) while you are in the admin page/account. Even with routers, I’ve seen Merlin firmware spit out your password to the console port as you enter it, so things are not as comfy and secure as we think. The RESTful update mechanism you mentioned is the only way to use ClouDNS, yet Namecheap provide extra software to do the same thing under the hood: https://www.namecheap.com/support/knowledgebase/article.aspx/29/11/how-to-dynamically-update-the-hosts-ip-with-an-http-request/ No-IP has a… Read more »