Configure your domain to connect with a DDNS provider.
Configure your domain to connect with a DDNS provider.
So... The second post I made looking for help today... I feel wrong. This isn't how I'm supposed to work. I'm supposed to fix other people's problems!!! Anyways, here's what's going on: I have a server which I want to use for development, mainly. So I want ssh access to it from anywhere. I also may spin up a website on it, and some other tools on various ports. Setting that up on the server isn't hard. set those ports to listen, start the services, whatever. So i have done that, (at least for sshd) I set up a dynamic dns service for my router. I have had an account for a long time with noip, but my router integrates with dlinkddns, so i set that up so i don't have to run a program to update the dns provider at all when my IP changes. I have an address from them, and set that up in my router. I also forwarded the ports I need for the reserved IP of my server. I can ssh into that server from anywhere using the ddns as the hostname. So this works. The issue comes when I try to use my own domain that I purchased to do the same thing. I purchased a domain from squarespace (cause I wanted to give a certain content creator a little kickback or at least partner satisfaction), and I plan to use that domain as the domain to access my server. Now, I have tried a bunch of configuration options on there... but nothing has worked frankly. If someone is willing to help, i'll be glad to share what i've tried so far (to the best extent my memory will allow), but if anyone simply knows how to do this and can tell me, I would be the giddiest of posters Thanks, pre-emptively!
Because a plain domain can't be linked directly via CNAME to a DDNS record you already possess, the only viable option is to employ a DDNS service as your DNS provider for the entire domain. You might opt for Cloudflare, even though they aren't strictly a DDNS provider, you can leverage their API for this purpose. Direct your domain's nameservers to their platform (you'll need to sign up). Once you create a DNS zone using your present dynamic IP address, you can utilize ddclient (or any other DDNS client) to refresh the records across the entire zone whenever your IP changes. I recommend pairing Cloudflare with ddclient since they integrate smoothly through their API, though any alternative provider would be acceptable. Reminder: If you plan to use a dynamic IP, set the TTL to a low value to avoid DNS caching issues.
I understand now to send the subdomain to the ddns address. ssh.domain.example works fine. Appreciate the assistance!
Yes, you can redirect any subdomain to your existing DDNS using a CNAME. The only domain you can't assign is the bare domain, since it requires an A record. For my suggested approach, you needed a DNS zone provider that offers DDNS functionality. Edited March 19, 2018 by RixzZ Fixed typo
Sure, I’ll keep this in mind. If I ever set up a proper site on this box, I’ll need to do that, but I don’t expect to do it right away. For now, it’s mainly for development work, so creating custom domains for each app is fine. Appreciate the support—this might come into play later when I start building a site.