Ubuntu: DDNS Is Worth Using 🥦 with NO-IP

❓What Is This

I'm using Ubuntu as a file server.

Thinking about accessing it from outside my network,
it seemed worth trying dynamic DNS (DDNS) to handle cases where my IP address changes...

So with that motivation, this post walks through setting up DDNS using NO-IP.

🪴 Environment

As of 2024/07/21

Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
Release: 24.04
Codename: noble

🛠️ How To

Creating a NO-IP Account

Go to https://noip.com and create an account.

As long as you don't need more than one domain, the free plan should be fine.

Open Dynamic DNS from the tab on the left, then
select "NO IP Hostnames".

You should see a screen like the one below —
click the green "Create Hostname" button.

A popup like the one below will open —
enter/select a Hostname and Domain.
Once you've done that, click "Create Hostname".

The screenshot shows Record Type set to AAAA, but please leave it on DNS Host(A) instead and proceed 🙏

It should now show up as added, like this.

Configuration on Ubuntu

Install ddclient.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install ddclient -y

Once you install it, you should see the screen below.

Since we're using no-ip.com this time, select that.

Enter your username.

Enter your password.

For a typical home setup, the top option, "web-based ip discovery service," should be fine.
This is the option for when you have a router and are connected to the network through it.

The option below is apparently for when your computer is connected directly to the internet, which shouldn't apply to a typical home setup.

If you'd like a rough understanding of networking, check out this article.

https://coiai.net/blog/1465

Enter the domain you created earlier on noip.com.

If you made a mistake in the setup,
or want to change something,
you can configure it from the conf file.

sudo vi /etc/ddclient.conf

Set up ddclient to start automatically.

sudo systemctl enable ddclient
sudo systemctl start ddclient

📕 References

How to use no-ip
https://www.noip.com/support/knowledgebase/free-dynamic-dns-getting-started-guide-ip-version

🥦 Summary

You really should eat plenty of broccoli!