Networks Verizon DSL, Linux servers, static IPs, and whatnot

I've got a Linux system that I want to use as a web server, FTP server, whatever... I also have a domain (www.thevizvault.com), registered through GoDaddy.com. The problem is, I have Verizon DSL, and I only get a dynamic IP address, so it changes very often. I'm also using a Linksys router. My question is, how can I get around the problem of having a dynamic IP address, and always have my domain point to my network, and ultimately, to my server?

 

if your router supports it you can set up a dynamic ip address with a service like dyndns which gives you a domain like me.dyndns.org or summit which always points to your dynamic ip for you cable modem. Then in the dns server settings for your domain you can point the ip address to the host name (providing they let you use hostname instead of ip's) for your dyndns account and whallah it should always resolve to your cable modem.

this is exactly what i have done and it works a treat!

 

hmm, sounds like this could prove to be very useful to me in the near future as I'm trying to connect 2 PS2s, 3 PCs, and a VoIP box at the same time.

I'm afraid i'm gonna have to ask you to break it down a little more barney style, if you don't mind. I recognize most of the acronyms/concepts, but lack the experience to understand what it really means.

Oh, i'm pretty sure my linksys BEFW11S4 is gonna have to get replaced/augmented to pull this off.

 

ok here it is "barney" style

first step is to go here and register a domain name with them and set up your account.

On my router a Netgear RO318 it has got the option to put in a dyndns hostname and it will automatically keep updating the ip address of my cable modem to their servers so that when you ping my dyndns hostname it points to my cable modem.

If your router does not support this i think they have a little program which will run in the background for you and do the same thing.

The next step is register your domain or visit the web based control panel for your domain name. Now hopefully if the company you registered your domain name with is kind enough they let you easily edit your dns records for your domain.

on my host for my domain 123-reg i can manage the dns, now in my dns management panel i have set up a cname record in the dns zone files that points to my dyndns domain name. So i have added a record that looks like this:

Name: Type: Content:
* CNAME name.dyndns.org.

now i have used a * for the name as this means that anything at your domain name will be pointed to that address for example www.name.dyndnsorg ftp.name.dyndns.org etc. Now the type is CNAME as this is pointer to another domain name allready in the dns. I have got a fullstop at the end of the name.dyndns.org this is not a typo but you need the fullstop to make the domain name fully qualified and for it to work properly.

the next step is to save the changes and wait for the dns to propogate which could take anything from a few hours to a few days.

next you need to set up your services like web hosting email etc inside your network and then open up the ports on your router and point them to the machine hosting these services.

that should be it, just a quick bit of testing like geting a mate to look at the domain name and test to see if it works and your away!!!

 

hmm, sounds like a lot of work! Would that give me the ability to run multiple "DMZ" ports on the other side of the router? That's why I'm looking into this.

Thanks for the info!

 

a dmz is a de-milatrized zone essentially where you put public services ie webservers etc that are accessed by the internet. it depends on your router whether you can have multiple dmz zones in your network but yes you would be able to use dmz zones with what i have said above as nothing is changing really except you have isolated the servers into a dmz seperate from your network.

 

Point www.thevizvault.com to your dydns/no-ip domain. Then the simplest way of getting the DNS to update when the IP changes is to run a program on the server machine (no-ip make supply such a program) that checks your internet IP address and updates the dns accordingly. Its what I do and it works a treat, and I never need to intervene.

 

Thanks for all the help guys, but I just found out that my ISP (Verizon) doesn't allow you to have a server (even for personal use) and all of the common ports are blocked.