User's Manual

netAqua

USER MANUAL Roslen Eco-Networking Products

Figure 24: Router DHCP Range

2.6.4. Setting-up a DDNS Service

As mentioned earlier, DDNS is a very useful service to avoid the pitfall of your ISP changing the Internet

IP address of your router. Remember, if you know your router Internet IP address, and it has been

dynamically assigned by your ISP, chances are that it will change if you turn-off and restart your router, or

some timeout occurs in the IPS system. So, DDNS was devised to take care of this issue.

Typically, a DDNS server on the Internet works together with a small program running on a computer or

tablet that normally stays on all or most of the time and is connected to your home computer network, and

has been configured to work with the selected DDNS server. Two of the most popular DDNS services are

DynDNS.org and No-IP.com.

The first step in setting up a DDNS service is to open an account with your selected DDNS provider.

Ways to do this vary between the various providers out there, but the end result is typically the same:

you get a customized DDNS address. When your account is opened and activated, you’ll receive an

address that is unique to you, and, hopefully, at least somewhat easy to remember. For example, if you

chose No-IP.com as your DDNS service provider, your unique address could include your name:

BettinaVonArnim.no-ip.org

Of course, other DDNS providers also allow you to use your name, or a host of other terminology, which

sets-up infinite possibilities for how you could configure your DDNS address.

The next step is to install the DDNS client program on a computer that is most often turned on and on-line

in your home. There are DDNS client programs for virtually any computing platform out there. Typically,

the DDNS service that you choose will have a recommended client program, so you should probably use

that one. The key here is the choice of computer; the DDNS client needs to have be able to access the

DDNS server freely, or as freely as possible. For example, if you install the DDNS client on a computer

that is only turned on a few times per month, then the DDNS service most likely will not receive updates

of all changes to your router internet IP Address. This of course, will compromise access to your

netAQUA from the internet. If you leave for an extended vacation, it is necessary to leave your router

turned on, as well as the computer that has the DDNS client installed.

Many modern routers have a DDNS client built-in as one of their features. Unfortunately, our example

Netgear WNR3500L only works with DynDNS, but there are other routers, such as those made by

Buffalo, which support numerous DDNS services. The advantage of using a router for your DDNS