Synchronet Dynamic Domain Name System (DynDNS) Service
            ======================================================

$Id: dyndns.txt,v 1.2 2007/08/05 02:26:38 rswindell Exp $

Introduction
------------
If your BBS computer or router has a dynamically-assigned IP address (e.g. via
DHCP or PPP), you need a dynamic hostname so that your BBS users can always
logon to your BBS without knowing your current IP address (since it can change
at any time).

Even if you have a static (never changing) IP address, it is much more
friendly to users to provide them with a hostname than an IP address with
which to logon to your BBS. Humans find it much easier to remember (and type)
"vert.synchro.net" than "69.104.209.210".

There are many dynamic DNS services available on the Internet (most are free).
Here are some popular DynDNS services (not associated with Synchronet):

	http://www.dtdns.com/
	http://www.no-ip.com/
	http://www.dyndns.org/
	http://www.zoneedit.com/
	http://www.d2g.com/
	http://www.bbs.us/dns/

Some of these services can even host full domain names (e.g. yourbbs.com) with
dynamic IP updates and even provide advanced services such as mail-relaying
and port-forwarding (sometimes for a fee). All of these services require some
3rd party software to run in the background when your system boots and
automatically detect changes to your IP address (not strictly required if you
have a static IP address).


yourbbs.synchro.net
-------------------
If you'd like a "synchro.net" hostname, we offer a free, very easy-to-use
dynamic hostname service exclusively for Synchronet sysops. Your synchro.net
hostname will always point to your current IP address, as long as your BBS
is running. Using this service requires Synchronet v3.10 or later (for Win32
or Unix).

Directions:

1. Download the following file into your Synchronet "exec" directory:
   http://cvs.synchro.net/cgi-bin/cvsweb.cgi/~checkout~/exec/dyndns.js

2. If you haven't already, create a QWK networking account on Vertrauen
   (telnet://vert.synchro.net), using your BBS's QWK-ID for the username
   (see http://synchro.net/docs/dove-net.txt for more details).

   Note: You do not have to actually join DOVE-Net to get a synchro.net
         hostname, if you do not wish.

3. Setup a timed event (in SCFG->External Programs->Timed Events) to run the 
   command-line "?dyndns yourpass" periodically, where yourpass is the
   password you used when you created your QWK networking account on
   Vertrauen. "DYNDNS" is the suggested internal code to use for this event.
   
   If you have a frequently changing IP address (and Synchronet v3.11 or
   later) set "Always Run After Init/Re-init" to "Yes". With this option set
   to "Yes", frequent timed updates should not be necessary.

   If you have a static IP address, one run (update) per month should be
   sufficient.

   Make sure the "Enabled" is set to "Yes".

4. After saving your changes in SCFG, and verifying that the BBS/Telnet Server
   has recycled, check the event log window or console output to verify that
   the "DYNDNS" event has executed. You can force the event to execute with
   the (Win32) SBBSCTRL:BBS->Force Timed Event menu option, or by "touching"
   (creating or modifying) the file "dyndns.now" in your Synchronet data
   directory.

5. Attempt to ping or connect to services at your-id.synchro.net, where
   your-id is your BBS's QWK-ID. It may take a few minutes for a new hostname
   to become active or for an existing hostname to resolve to a newly changed
   IP address. 

You're ready to go with your new synchro.net hostname!


Options
-------
-mx [hostname]
DNS MX (mail exchange) resource records are used to designate a specific
hostname as the "mail exchange" (receiving SMTP server) for a specific
hostname. If there is no MX record, then the hostname itself is assumed to
perform the role of "mail exchange". Some receiving SMTP servers now require
that the *sending* SMTP server correspond to the MX record of the "from"
hostname. If you want to specify an MX record for your hostname, you can do
so by adding "-mx" (optionally followed by a hostname) to your "?dyndns"
command-line (after the password). If no hostname is specified, then an MX
record pointing back to your hostname will be created. Example:
	"?dyndns password -mx mail.someother.org"

-hn <base_hostname>
If you want to update a hostname that is *different* than your BBS's QWK-ID,
then you can specify that hostname (QWK-ID) on the "?dyndns" command-line
(after the password) by using the "-hn" option followed by the hostname
to use (not including ".synchro.net"). There must be a corresponding QWKnet
account on Vertrauen for the specified hostname and password.

[ip_address]
If for some reason you want to specify a *different* IP address than the one
that your BBS will be using to connect with Vertrauen, you can include that IP
address on the "?dyndns" command-line (after the password). This is an
advanced feature that you should not need to use under normal conditions, even
if your BBS is behind a firewall/router using network address translation
(NAT) - the DynDNS server running on Vertrauen uses your correct *public* IP
address by default.

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