Using the Dynamic DNS (DDNS)

- What is DDNS?

The DDNS service, an IP Registry provides a public central database where information such as email addresses, host names, IPs etc. can be stored and retrieved. This solves the problems if your DNS server uses an IP associated with dynamic IPs.

Without DDNS, we always tell the users to use the WAN IP of the ZyXEL device to access the internal server. It is inconvenient for the users if this IP is dynamic. With DDNS supported by the ZyXEL device, you apply a DNS name (e.g., www.zyxel.com.tw) for your server (e.g., Web server) from a DDNS server. The outside users can always access the web server using the www.zyxel.com.tw regardless of the WAN IP of the ZyXEL device.

When the ISP assigns the ZyXEL device a new IP, the ZyXEL device must inform the DDNS server the change of this IP so that the server can update its IP-to-DNS entry. Once the IP-to-DNS table in the DDNS server is updated, the DNS name for your web server (i.e., www.zyxel.com.tw) is still usable.

The DDNS server stores password-protected email addresses with IPs and hostnames and accepts queries based on email addresses. So, there must be an email entry in the ZyXEL device menu 1.

The DDNS servers the ZyXEL device supports currently is WWW.DYNDNS.ORG where you apply the DNS from and update the WAN IP to.

- Setup the DDNS

Option | Description
Service Provider | Enter the DDNS server in this field. Currently, we support WWW.DYNDNS.ORG.
Host Name | Enter the hostname you subscribe from the above DDNS server. For example, zyxel.com.tw.
User Name | Enter the user name that
Password | Enter the password that the DDNS server gives to you.
Enable Wildcard | Enter the hostname for the wildcard function that the WWW.DYNDNS.ORG supports. Note that Wildcard option is available only when the provider is WWW.DYNDNS.ORG.

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