Moving to DDNS

Discussion in 'HOWTO-Related Questions' started by mrbronz, Jul 16, 2024.

  1. mrbronz

    mrbronz Member HowtoForge Supporter

    Hi chaps,
    Due to other commitments, I no longer have the time or resources to fully host my DNS servers.
    However, I still enjoy the freedom of unlimited email addresses for my domains and the ability to host and test web content.
    Anyway, I have to give up my multiple IP addresses and return to an ISP dynamically assigned IPv6 address.
    I know this may sound silly, but is there a tutorial showing how to do this?
    I would like to retain the freedom ISP config 3 gives.

    I understand that I have to give up my nameservers, but I'm unsure of how to set up the system using something like noip.com.

    Any guidance or advice will be very much appreciated.
     
  2. till

    till Super Moderator Staff Member ISPConfig Developer

    How many domains do you need DNS for? You could e.g. use CloudFlare for free as DNS service.

    Have you considered using a cheap cloud instance that would allow you to keep a static IP instead of running your server at home? In most cases, having a VM at a cloud hoster is cheaper than paying the electrical bill for a server running at home (at least if it's not a Raspi).
    The main issue running a system at home today is email; you will likely need an email relay service if you want to be able to send emails.
     
    pyte likes this.
  3. mrbronz

    mrbronz Member HowtoForge Supporter

    Ooo, wow. No, I never gave that a thought. Thank you. But is relay service a bad thing?
    Also, do you have any guidance on doing such a thing? I mean both Cloud and relay to help me transition
     
  4. ahrasis

    ahrasis Well-Known Member HowtoForge Supporter

    Well, as I said in other threads, ISPConfig3 can run in any home lab / server with dynamic public IP just fine.

    For dns service, you may want to separate each domain to one (email) account per domain if you are using free cloudflare dns service as it is limited per account basis. The process is quite simple actually.

    For dynamic dns management, I would suggest dynu in addition to cloudflare.

    For mail relay, there are a lot of discussions on this forum how to set it up, and it is quite simple and straight forward.

    To note, however, if this is use with free services or even paid ones, it won't give you the same freedom and ability of running your own mail server. I think not even close.
     
  5. till

    till Super Moderator Staff Member ISPConfig Developer

    Personally, I'm not a fan of using a relay service, but I know many use them and are happy with that setup. So this is no indication to not do it. I guess it comes down to how big the server must be, if you run already a server where you can put ISPConfig on as a additional VM or not and/or if you must even buy the hardware.

    Let's assume you have old hardware for such a server, but you do not run a server yet where you could add iSPConfig as a VM. What matters in this scenario is mostly electricity costs. Here is an example from my country: Say this server consumes 100W, and we have it run 24/7. So it's 2.4 KW/h a day and roughly 72 KW/h a months. 1KW/h here costs about 30 EUR Ct., so the electricity bill for me would be 21.6 EUR / month if I run this server here at home. When I rent a Cloud server e.g. at Hetzner, I get one for 4.51 EUR. Ok, my home server is likely more powerful, but e.g. I get a system with 16GB RAM and 8 vCPU (shared) for 19.52 EUR
     
    ahrasis and mrbronz like this.
  6. mrbronz

    mrbronz Member HowtoForge Supporter

    Oh, that isn't very reassuring. What would be the limitations?
     
  7. mrbronz

    mrbronz Member HowtoForge Supporter

    Now that is an interesting way to look at it.
    I do have the hardware currently running, OK? It's only a simple Raspberry Pi set, but it works and works well, as it has for some time; I occasionally get a glitch here and there, but nothing too serious.

    So, Till, how does this work with Cloudflare?
    Do they provide an IP address, or do I just redirect from a dynamic host (NoIP)?
    Or should I have a dynamic IP capture and update package running on my current web server? where I host my websites and ISPC3 sites, including my email server?
     
  8. till

    till Super Moderator Staff Member ISPConfig Developer

    mrbronz likes this.
  9. ahrasis

    ahrasis Well-Known Member HowtoForge Supporter

    I think @till's suggestion is more on leasing a vm with fixed ip rather than running your own with dynamic ip, which is preferred cost wise.

    Cloudflare only gives you its name servers IP and FQDN, so you have to setup dynamic dns for your home server / lab yourself either by using Cloudflare dynamic dns API or others, like dynu.

    You cannot however host any ISPConfig mail server using them.
     
  10. mrbronz

    mrbronz Member HowtoForge Supporter

    First, thanks for your suggestions; they are very much appreciated.
    I appreciate your time, Till, and I totally understand this request is out of the scope of ISPC3 support, but thank you anyway.
    Unfortunately, I still don't see an answer unless I've missed something, (I have been known to do from time to time).
    Is it possible, and would it work, for the NoIP software to be run on my server and update the dynamic IP to the dynamic host?

    If I understand this correctly, someone types my URL into their browser. This is picked up by the dynamic host redirect provider (NoIP), which links the typed URL to my server's current IP address. All this time, the NoIP package is constantly monitoring my server's IP address for any changes. If it does change, it updates the dynamic host servers, so that any traffic can find it. Do I have this understanding correct?
     
  11. ahrasis

    ahrasis Well-Known Member HowtoForge Supporter

    Yes.
    Yes.

    To clarify further, dynamic dns is merely a tool to update A record of your chosen FQDN in your dynamic dns server (like NoIP or DYNU) while that FQDN will always be the CNAME record in your dns server (like CloudFlare).
     
  12. mrbronz

    mrbronz Member HowtoForge Supporter

    You, my good chaps, are outstanding... Thank you
     

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