2. Connecting with a Domain Name Maintained by a Dynamic DNS Service
If you want to use Remote Desktop via the Internet
regularly, constantly monitoring your router’s dynamic IP address can be
a pain, particularly if you forget to check it before heading out of
the office. A useful solution is to sign up with a dynamic DNS service,
which supplies you with a static domain name. The service also installs a
program on your computer that monitors your IP address and updates the
service’s dynamic DNS servers to point your domain name to your IP
address. Here are some dynamic DNS services to check out:
To give you some idea how to go about this, here’s a summary of the steps I took to set up dynamic DNS with DynDNS:
1. | Sign
up for one of the company’s services. In my case, I already had a
domain name, so I signed up for the Custom DNS service so that DynDNS
could handle the DNS duties for my domain. If you don’t have a domain,
you can sign up for the Domain Registration service.
| 2. | After
confirming my account, I used one of the excellent “how-to” articles
found on DynDNS to determine the domain names of their DNS servers.
| 3. | With
those names in hand, I logged in to my account on the registrar that
handles my domain. I then changed the DNS servers for my domain so that
they pointed to the DynDNS servers.
| 4. | I
downloaded the DynDNS Updater, a program that runs on your local
computer and monitors your gateway’s dynamic IP address. When that
address changes, DynDNS Updater passes the new address to the DynDNS
system so that my domain name always points to the correct IP address.
| 5. | I waited for about a day for the DNS changes to propagate throughout the Internet.
|
3. Connecting with a Domain Name Maintained by Windows Home Server
Using
a domain name instead of an IP address is better because domain names
are easier for everyone in the family to remember, and they don’t change
the way the IP address assigned by your ISP probably does. Using a
dynamic DNS service as described in the previous section enables you to
never worry about your router’s IP address again. However, if there’s a
downside to using these services, it’s that they add an extra layer of
maintenance to your remote access duties, and you can never be sure how
long the company might be in business.
You can simplify connecting with a domain name by
letting Windows Home Server handle the dynamic DNS details for you. (And
you can sleep better at night knowing that Microsoft will probably be
around for a while!) The Windows Home Server dynamic DNS service gives
you three options:
Use a subdomain name from Microsoft. Whereas a domain name takes the form domain.com, a subdomain name takes the form mydomain.domain.com. Here, domain.com is the domain name of the company providing the service, and mydomain is a unique name that you provide. With Windows Home Server, the subdomain takes the form mydomain.homeserver.com,
and the domain is administered by Microsoft’s Windows Live Custom
Domains service via the homeserver.com site, the official home of
Windows Home Server. The subdomain is free, although it does require you
to have a Windows Live ID, such as a Hotmail, Live, or MSN account. Use an existing domain name.
This is the way to go if you already have a domain name that you want
to use to access your home network via the Internet. Note, however, that
Windows Home Server requires you to transfer your domain name to a
provider that works with Windows Home Server. Set up a new domain name.
This is the route to take if you don’t already have your own domain
name, or if you prefer to use a new name to access your home network
over the Internet. In this case, Windows Home Server connects you with a
domain name provider in your area, and you use that third-party service
to create your new domain. (Note that the third-party service will
charge you a small annual fee to maintain the domain name.)
No matter which method you choose, this is a dynamic
DNS service, so even if your router’s IP address changes, your subdomain
or domain will be updated to point to the new address. (Windows Home
Server periodically polls the router for its current IP address and
sends that address to the Microsoft dynamic DNS server. The server then
updates its DNS database with the current IP address of your router.)
Setting Up a Subdomain from Microsoft
Follow these steps to set up a Windows Home Server subdomain:
1. | Open the Windows Home Server Dashboard.
| 2. | Click Server Settings to open the Server Settings dialog box.
| 3. | Select the Remote Web Access tab.
| 4. | In
the Domain Name section, click Set Up to launch the Set Up Your Domain
Name Wizard. (If you don’t have Remote Access turned on, click Turn On
instead; once Windows Home Server has configured your router, click the
Set Up Domain Name link to launch the Set Up Your Domain Name Wizard.)
| 5. | Click Next. The wizard asks you to choose which method to use to set up the domain name.
| 6. | Click I Want to Set Up a New Domain Name, and then click Next. The wizard asks what type of domain name you want.
| 7. | Click
Get a Personalized Domain Name from Microsoft, and then click Next. The
wizard asks you to sign in to your Windows Live ID account.
| 8. | Type
your Windows Live email address and password, and then click Next. What
happens next depends on whether you already have a subdomain registered
with Microsoft:
If you already have a subdomain registered
with Windows Live and you want to use that subdomain, select Choose a
Registered Name, choose the subdomain from the list, click Next, and
then skip to step 10. If you already have
a subdomain registered with Windows Live but you want to use a new
subdomain, select Create a New Domain Name, click Next, and proceed with
step 9. If you don’t have a subdomain registered with Windows Live, proceed with step 9.
| 9. | Type
your subdomain name and then click Check Availability to confirm that
it’s available. If the name is available, click Set Up. The wizard sets
up your subdomain name.
Note
Your subdomain name can be any length, but it must
contain only letters, numbers, or hyphens, and it must begin and end
with a letter or number.
| 10. | Click
Close. The wizard returns you to the Server Settings dialog box and
displays a link for your new domain name. (You can click this link to
access your Windows Home Server over the Internet.)
| 11. | Click OK.
|
Setting Up an Existing Domain
Follow these steps to set up an existing domain name:
1. | Open the Windows Home Server Dashboard.
| 2. | Click Server Settings to open the Server Settings dialog box.
| 3. | Select the Remote Web Access tab.
| 4. | In
the Domain Name section, click Set Up to launch the Set Up Your Domain
Name wizard. (If you don’t have Remote Access turned on, click Turn On
instead; once Windows Home Server has configured your router, click the
Set Up Domain Name link to launch the Set Up Your Domain Name Wizard.)
| 5. | Click Next. The wizard asks you to choose which method to use to set up the domain name.
| 6. | Click
I Want to Use a Domain Name I Already Own, type the domain name, and
then click Next. The wizard either displays your current domain provider
(in which case, you can skip to step 9), or it displays a list of
domain name providers in your area (in which case, continue with step
7).
| 7. | If
the provider that currently maintains your domain name is on the list,
select that provider; otherwise, select the provider you want to use.
Click Next. The wizard warns you that transferring a domain will take
some time and asks if you want to proceed.
| 8. | Click Yes. The wizard displays the domain name and provider you chose.
| 9. | Click Go to Provider, where Provider
is the name of the domain name provider you chose in step 7. The wizard
launches your web browser and connects you with the domain name
provider.
| 10. | Proceed through the steps required to transfer your domain name.
| 11. | Switch back to the wizard and click Next. The wizard sets up your domain name.
| 12. | Click
Close. The wizard returns you to the Server Settings dialog box and
displays a link for your new domain name. (You can click this link to
access your Windows Home Server over the Internet.)
| 13. | Click OK.
|
Setting Up a New Domain
Follow these steps to set up a new domain name:
1. | Open the Windows Home Server Dashboard.
| 2. | Click Server Settings to open the Server Settings dialog box.
| 3. | Select the Remote Web Access tab.
| 4. | In
the Domain Name section, click Set Up to launch the Set Up Your Domain
Name Wizard. (If you don’t have Remote Access turned on, click Turn On
instead; once Windows Home Server has configured your router, click the
Set Up Domain Name link to launch the Set Up Your Domain Name Wizard.)
| 5. | Click Next. The wizard asks you to choose which method to use to set up the domain name.
| 6. | Click I Want to Set Up a New Domain Name, and then click Next. The wizard asks what type of domain name you want.
| 7. | Click
Purchase Professional Domain Name from a Supported Provider, and then
click Next. The wizard displays a list of domain name providers in your
area.
| 8. | Select the provider you want to use, and then click Next. The wizard asks you to select your new domain name.
| 9. | Type
the domain name, select an extension (such as .com) from the list, and
then click Next. The wizard checks with the provider to make sure the
domain name is available.
| 10. | Click Register Now. The wizard launches your web browser and connects you with the domain name provider.
| 11. | Proceed through the steps required to register and create your domain name.
| 12. | Switch back to the wizard and click Next. The wizard sets up your domain name.
| 13. | Click
Close. The wizard returns you to the Server Settings dialog box and
displays a link for your new domain name. (You can click this link to
access your Windows Home Server over the Internet.)
| 14. | Click OK.
|
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