DDNS (Dynamic DNS) is a service that dynamically maps Internet domain names to IP addresses. DDNS serves a similar purpose to the Internet’s Domain Name System (DNS) and allows anyone hosting a Web or FTP server to advertise a public name to prospective users.
Unlike DNS that only works with static IP addresses, DDNS is designed to also support dynamic IP addresses, such as those assigned by a DHCP server. That makes DDNS a good fit for home networks, which normally receive dynamic public IP addresses from their Internet provider that occasionally change.
As of box release 1.974, the DDNS feature can be turned off.
Please be aware that when DDNS is turned off, you'll need to manually manage your public IP address if you are running internet service at home, including the Firewalla VPN Server.
Additionally, as of box version 1.976, Firewalla supports manually specifying your WAN interface and IP type. For example, if you use CGNAT as your primary WAN, which doesn't support port forwarding, you can set the WAN Interface for DDNS and your VPN server to your backup WAN or change the IP type to IPv6 Only. You may specify an IP address if you have multiple static IPs on the same WAN. You can read more about this feature and how to use it in our box version 1.976 release notes.
DDNS can be used for the following
- If you want to host your own web services (website, ssh) at home or small business.
- If you have devices in the home/small business that requires you to connect back from the outside without going through the cloud.
Tips
- DDNS will require your ISP to provide you with a public IP address
- DDNS is based on DNS, if your IP address changes, it may take some time for the DNS part to be fully synced around the world. So do expect delays in updating the DDNS.
- If you are running Firewalla in DHCP mode, and want to access your home device using the public IP address provided by DDNS, you have to do port forwarding in order to make it work. Here is the detailed instruction: https://help.firewalla.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017789393-How-to-setup-port-forwarding-for-devices-in-DHCP-Mode-
- For advanced users, If you have your own Domain, you can use CNAME to link the Firewalla DDNS name to your domain. (A CNAME is like a pointer). See Amazon and Godaddy examples.
Comments
10 comments
Is https offered with the DDNS provided?
DDNS is just a pointer from a domain name to your current IP address. If you mean https certificates, that's something you can generate
I have a private, maintained and easy to remember domain name. Can I associate it somehow with the DDNS?
When will ipv6 be supported? I only have a public ipv6 address. The DDNS hostname is bind to an internal provider ipv4 nat address and is not reachable from the internet ..
I'm setting up Firewalla Gold on my test network and currently use Cloudflare for my DDNS with my own host/domain name. Can I set that up with Firewalla anywhere? Thanks!
You can put the firewalla DDNS into your CNAME under your domain.
Duh, that makes sense. Sorry and thanks.
Is it possible to let Firewalla Gold update my dyndns alias?
(It is my own dyndns supplies dns adress.)
Would it be possible for us to have custom DDNS entries?
Count me in as looking for a way to update a dynamic dns service of my own selection.
Found this is a potential workaround, but doesn't really match up with what I was looking for in a system of this sort.
https://help.firewalla.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/11393144303123-ddclient-dynamic-DNS-install-run-script-for-Firewalla-Purple
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