| About Dynamic DNS Dynamic DNS is a service for people whose Internet Service Providers (ISPs) assign them a dynamic (differnt each time) IP address when they connect to the Internet. The service allows users to have a static domain name that always points to their current dynamic IP address. An IP address is a string of four numbers, each between 0 and 255, seperated by periods, that is used by computers on the Internet to talk to each other. Because there aren't an unlimited number of IP addresses, most ISPs have fewers IP addresses than they have customers. For this reason, they need assign each customer an IP address from a pool of currently available addresses each time the user logs on. While this method allows Internet Service Providers to conserve IP address use, it means that users won't have the same address each time they log in, and therefore can't have any single domain name consistently point to their IP address. This fact prevents users from having maximum power over the Internet. Having a dynamic IP address means that you can only contact other computers on the Internet; you cannot have them connect to your computer. One consequence of this fact is that you can't have servers (web, ftp, telnet, irc, etc.) run on your computer. A common way to overcome this problem has been to get a static IP address from your Internet Service Provider, so that when you connect to the Internet, you will always be assigned the same IP address. Many ISPs charge around US$100 or more per year for this service, and some charge considerably more. Dynamic DNS is a service that associates your current dynamically assigned IP address with a static domain name, allowing you to access your computer remotely, or set up a web, ftp, telnet, mail, irc, or similar server on your machine, without the expense associated with a static IP address. The service takes just minutes to set up, and provides an inexpensive alternative to static IPs without any drawbacks in functionality. With a Dynamic DNS account from theBBS.org, the Dynamic DNS client, running on your machine, can be used to send your current dynamic IP address (each time you log on with your ISP) to theBBS.org's server, which will change the IP associated with your static domain name (e.g. yourname.theBBS.org if your Dynamic DNS username is yourname). Packets sent to yourname.theBBS.org will then be directed to your current dynamic IP address, whatever it may be, so that those packets can be appropriately be handled by your web, ftp, telnet or other Internet server. There are currently clients available for Win32 and OS/2, and source to one is also available so you are able to port to to other platforms as Linux. One of the best things about the service, though, is that it costs just US$6 per year for the service (that's only US fifty cents per month!). Even better, if you run a BBS system or BBS related web site on your thebbs.org domain name, then you can signup for a FREE account. Creating an account is as simple as filling out the online Sign Up form, downloading the proper client from our ftp site, and setting up and running the software on your system. Create your account now and start using Dynamic DNS today! Click the Sign Up! button to sign up for the Dynamic DNS service at theBBS.org. |