Solved DDNS question

[Mr. Boniato]

Hi.
I have been using Asus DDNS service, but noticed it can be unreliable at times. I have an account with dnsomatic, but I can't seem to make it work. I cannot connect to OpenVPN when the IP changes on the WAN. It's like not updating.
But if I use Asus, then it works and when the WAN IP changes, it updates and allows me to see my network from outside.

Does that mean dnsomatic is not intended to work with OpenVPN and it's really for some other service?
Besides Asus DDNS, which other free DDNS can I use for this purpose?

I need to be able to view my security cameras from outside the LAN and Asus does the job, but again.. sometimes becomes unreliable.
Thanks.

 

[bbunge]

It is possible your WAN IP address is changing frequently. One thing to try is to enable WAN IP and hostname verification and set Check every on the DDNS page to something less than 60 minutes. I think 30 minutes is the minimum.

 

[Mr. Boniato]

It is possible your WAN IP address is changing frequently. One thing to try is toenable WAN IP and hostname verification and set Check every on the DDNS page to something less than 60 minutes. I think 30 minutes is the minimum.

It doesn't change that frequently. I actually force it to change by rebooting the router. But when I do that, the IP changes and Asus DDNS keeps working and updates with the current IP...but not when I use dnsomatic.. this is why I thought maybe dnsomatic is not meant for this?

 

[bbunge]

It doesn't change that frequently. I actually force it to change by rebooting the router. But when I do that, the IP changes and Asus DDNS keeps working and updates with the current IP...but not when I use dnsomatic.. this is why I thought maybe dnsomatic is not meant for this?

I had the same issue with www.no-ip.com. Enabling the hostname verification fixed it.

 

[Mr. Boniato]

I had the same issue with www.no-ip.com. Enabling the hostname verification fixed it.

Where do you see hostname verification? - I also want to try another ddns because of this privacy thing from Asus saying they will collect my personal data. They say I can always withdraw, but if I do that, I can't use their DDNS service.

 

[bbunge]

Where do you see hostname verification? - I also want to try another ddns because of this privacy thing from Asus saying they will collect my personal data. They say I can always withdraw, but if I do that, I can't use their DDNS service.

Hostname verification is not available with www.asus.com. Try one of the others.

 

[Mr. Boniato]

Hostname verification is not available with www.asus.com. Try one of the others.

I am using one of the others. What's happening is, if the WAN IP changes, the OpenVPN app won't update and I am unable to reach my network from outside.

 

[RMerlin]

I am using one of the others. What's happening is, if the WAN IP changes, the OpenVPN app won't update and I am unable to reach my network from outside.

Make sure you edit your OpenVPN config file to use the correct hostname. You are using DNS-o-Matic, which means the router has no way of pre-filling the correct hostname for you when it generates the config file.

 

[Mr. Boniato]

Make sure you edit your OpenVPN config file to use the correct hostname. You are using DNS-o-Matic, which means the router has no way of pre-filling the correct hostname for you when it generates the config file.

oh.. so I can't use the default config file from Asus.. I notice the config file auto generates the WAN IP.. so instead of the WAN IP, I need to replace with all.dnsomatic.com? this is the host name from dnsomatic.

 

[Mr. Boniato]

I just updated the config file and replaced the IP with all.dnsomatic.com, but it still won't connect. It only connects if the IP (host name) in the config file matches the WAN IP.

 

[Mr. Boniato]

This is what I get...

 

[Crimliar]

Is this the Fully Qualified Domain Name issue?
I use Google DNS and in order to access the router properly (inc HTTPS) I have to set my DDNS to look at the host.domain rather than just the domain
The router being gtax6000 and lets pretend the domain is mydomain.com then I need to have the DDNS setup as gtax6000.mydomain.com - seems to be something that gets overlooked, or it's just a google domains thing!

 

[RMerlin]

I need to replace with all.dnsomatic.com?

No, you need to replace it with the hostname of the DDNS provider you are using. DNS-o-Matic is not a DDNS provider, it`s an aggregator that allows you to update multiple separate DDNS services at once. You need to configure that within your DNS-o-Matic account first.

 

[Mr. Boniato]

No, you need to replace it with the hostname of the DDNS provider you are using. DNS-o-Matic is not a DDNS provider, it`s an aggregator that allows you to update multiple separate DDNS services at once. You need to configure that within your DNS-o-Matic account first.

Oh, I am now confused because their site says this...

 

[RMerlin]

Oh, I am now confused because their site says this...

Yes, second line repeats what I said:

"Add all services you use"

If you don`t use any DDNS service, then DNS-o-Matic isn`t doing anything for you. Yes, all.dnsomatic.com is used to generate the update, but it`s not a DDNS address you can use to connect to, it`s only used to update the DDNS services you use.

 

[Mr. Boniato]

So how would I use them along with OpenVPN app on my iphone to connect to my network?
Sorry, I guess I am not fully understanding. How would the config file look like then?

 

[RMerlin]

So how would I use them along with OpenVPN app on my iphone to connect to my network?
Sorry, I guess I am not fully understanding. How would the config file look like then?

Your root problem isn't the config file, it's that you aren't using a DDNS provider. You need to register with a DDNS service provider first of all.

Don't use DNS-o-Matic since it's useless without a DDNS provider. Instead, register for an account on Afraid for their Freedns service, and configure it on the DDNS settings page of the router. After that, export your OpenVPN client config file, it should contain the hostname you chose with Afraid.

 

[Mr. Boniato]

Your root problem isn't the config file, it's that you aren't using a DDNS provider. You need to register with a DDNS service provider first of all.

Don't use DNS-o-Matic since it's useless without a DDNS provider. Instead, register for an account on Afraid for their Freedns service, and configure it on the DDNS settings page of the router. After that, export your OpenVPN client config file, it should contain the hostname you chose with Afraid.

Got it.. thank you Merlin.. I just thought since dnsomatic was listed under the DDNS providers I assumed I could use them for that. I understand now.