2011-01-29 // Admin tip: use a CNAME DNS RR as alias for services like DynDNS.com
Dynamic DNS services like DynDNS are very useful, e.g. for LAN access via VPN in combination with non-static IP addresses. But the dynamic DNS hostname is normally a subdomain of the service (e.g. example.dyndns.org
) which is often hard to remember. And this name is tying yourself up to the service you are using because a change may be really annoying (you have to change documentation, inform users and stuff).
I'm always wondering why most admins don't use a simple trick to solve all these problems: Use a sub-domain of your own domain (e.g. vpn
) and set a CNAME RR for it. Let it simply point to your dynamic DNS hostname:
vpn.example.com. CNAME example.dyndns.org.
That's all, you are be able to use vpn.example.com
from now on. A sub-domain of your main address should be much easier to remember and you can switch to another dynamic DNS service whenever you want. Without any noticeable difference for a common user.