DynDNS

Client

Unix

Unix-based operating systems don't have a convenient GUI for automatically updating a dynamic IP address for a server with the DynDNS servers. However, it can still be done using ddclient, a perl script that allows for updating of the server's IP address. It has several nice features, one of which is the ability to run in the background in daemon mode.

The basic idea is this: create an executable script that will detect the IP address and send it to the DynDNS servers. Create a configuration file so that the executable knows what information to tell the DynDNS servers. And finally, create a startup item so that ddclient will run in the background.

Once you download the tarball, untar it and put one of the sample init files (sample-etc_rc.d_init.d_ddclient or similar) into /etc/init.d or /etc/rd.d or wherever startup items go for your *nix flavor. When you edit this startup script, you will be able to point the script to the ddclient executable script (wherever you decide to put it, the ddclient web page recommends /usr/sbin) and the configuration file (wherever you decide to put it, the ddclient web page recommends /etc/ddclient/ddclient.conf.

Next, copy the executable ddclient script to wherever you have decided to put it. Likewise, copy the example ddclient configuration file to ddclient.conf in whatever location you have decided to put it. When you're finished, test it out by starting the startup item by hand:

/etc/init.d/ddclient start

(or wherever else you might have put your startup item).