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How to configure Dynamic DNS on DD-WRT

If you aren't familiar with DD-WRT take a look-- it's worth your time. This amazing firmware replacement for literally hundreds of routers such as the Linksys WRT54g or ASUS WL500G enables features only found on very expensive equipement, and even then only sometimes and never all together. One such feature is a Dynamic DNS client that supports No-IP.com.

Flashing your router with the DD-WRT firmware can seem quite complicated. To get started read over the DD-WRT Wiki. It sounds daunting, but if you go with supported hardware there really isn't much to it. We can't get into the specifics of flashing your router, but follow the guides online and you'll have it up and running in no time.

Once you have DD-WRT installed, setting up dynamic DNS with No-IP.com is easy. Follow our Getting Started Guide to create an account and a hostname. When you get to the section, "Configure your router" jump back to this guide.

  1. Log into your DD-WRT router, usually by going to http://192.168.1.1/.
  2. Click the Setup tab, then the DDNS tab.
  3. Choose No-IP.com from the DDNS Service drop-down list.
  4. In the fields that appear enter the email address that you use for your No-IP.com username, your password, and the hostnames that you would like updated.
  5. Click Apply Settings
  6. In the DDNS Status fieldset you will see a log of the updates!

Most DD-WRT users have some home router configuration under their belt. But if you are new to it or you just want to learn a couple tricks, keep reading. We're setting up port forwarding next.

Port Forwarding on DD-WRT

To configure port forwarding I will first outline the steps then give a more detailed explanation with screen shots.

  1. Create a DHCP reservation for the computer listening for the ports that will be forwarded on the Services page under DHCP Server.
  2. Go to NAT / QoS and the Port Forwarding tab underneath it
  3. Click Add, then enter a name for the service, the outside port, the protocol, the internal IP address, and the internal port number. Check Enable.
  4. Click Apply Settings

That was easy, right? No? Follow along with this example:

First we need to create a DHCP reservation. This makes the router assign the same IP address every time a computer connects to it. What we'll need is the MAC address and the IP we would like to assign. Luckily DD-WRT provides us with this information on the DHCP Clients fieldset. To get there, click Status then LAN.

See the MAC address and IP address near the bottom of that page? Copy the MAC address and remember the IP. We'll enter that information on the Services page under DHCP Server Static Leases. Go there now.

Scroll to the bottom of the long Services page and click Apply Settings

Got to the NAT / QoS tab. The Port Forwarding tab below it should be active. Click Add and enter a name for the service that is being forwarded, such as Webserver or Bittorrent. Next, enter the port. For a webserver use port 80. If your ISP blocks port 80 try port 8080 or another easy to remember alternative. Select the protocol. You can leave it as Both, but most services use TCP. Enter the IP address you created the reservation for. You remember it, right? Next enter the port that the connections will be forwarded to. This is often the same number as the "Port from" column, but if you had to pick an alternate webserver port, enter 80 here. Click the checkbox in the "Enable" column, then click Apply Settings.

And you're done! You can test your configuration with this handy tool: canyouseeme.org

If it doesn't work and you are trying to forward ports for a webserver, try entering the IP address that we created a reservation for in a browser on that network, for example, http://192.168.1.100/. If this brings up the website you are trying to forward ports to, then you likely have a typo in your configuration. Check over each step paying close attention to port numbers and IP addresses. If it does bring up the website you expect make sure the webserver service is started and your firewall is allowing connections.

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