Dynksys Dynamic IP Updater v1.0

Contents

Overview
Installing
Configure Dynksys
Install as NT Servic (e.g. Windows)
Run Dynksys runtime from the command line (e.g. Unix)
Trouble shooting
License

Overview

Dynksys allows you to update your network's external IP address to a dynamic host name service such as DHS International or DynDNS.org so that you can access your network using a host name that should be current at all times.  This is particularly useful if your network's IP address is obtained via DHCP, in which case it is subject to change.  Dynksys is capable of determining your network's IP address even if it is behind a router such as those made by Linksys or Netgear.  You can install Dynksys to any computer running inside your network and it will determine your external IP address and update to your dynamic host name service.

I created this application because I wanted to expose a web server inside my home network to the internet.  My home network is stuck behind a Linksys router and all the dynamic updater programs I found would only update to a service using the local IP address of the machine they were running on.  Not too helpful if your machine is behind a router.  Hopefully some other people in the same situation will find this application helpful... enjoy!

Installing

A universal installer is provided that is built using the free version of InstallAnywhere 5.  To install Dynksys on a Windows platform, simply run the executable installation file and step through the installation wizard.  Once installed, you'll probably want to install Dynksys as an NT Service so that it is always running in the background and keeping your dynamic host name up to date.

Important VM Notes: Dynksys requires the Java runtime version 1.3 or greater.  For Windows platforms, use the VM that is included with the installer.

Configure Dynksys

Before the Dynksys Dynamic IP Updater can work, you'll need to launch the configuration console.  The configuration console can be launched from the Dynksys Program Group in the Start Menu by clicking on the Configuration shortcut.

To configure the Dynksys Dynamic IP Updater, perform the following steps in the configuration console

1. Click on the Update Service tab and choose the dynamic host name service that you would like to use.  DHS International provides a free service that you can sign up for, and Dynksys supports this service out-of-the-box.
2. Enter your DHS username, DHS password, hostname that you're using and the DHS domain.
3. Click on the Host Address tab.  Choose the Host Address that Dynksys should use to determine your external IP address.  Dynksys comes with a host name service called IPID | Your IP Info that determines your external IP address by using an online service, this is the recommended service and is the most flexible option.
4. Click on the Options tab and specify the following options
   • Check IP (seconds) - This is how often the Dynksys runtime will check the IP address that your dynamic host name service is configured with, and compare it to your current external IP address.  If they don't match, it will perform an update to dynamic host name service.
   • Max Update IP (minutes) - This is the amount of time that the Dynksys runtime will wait before making another update request to your dynamic host name service.  Some dynamic host name services will block your host name if you make updates too frequently.
   • Log Level - Choose the log level that you desire.  Levels are cumulative, which means that WARN includes all those before it, ERROR and FATAL.  Log levels DEBUG and ALL will log quite a bit of information to your log file, so only use these when you're debugging or trouble shooting.
5. Click on the Status tab to see what the current status of the Dynksys runtime is.  Note that the settings in this window will not be updated until the Dynksys runtime is executed.  In a Windows environment this is done by installing the Dynksys runtime as a service.  In other environments, you'll have to figure it out on your own (e.g. Unix you can run it from the command line).
   • External IP Address - This is what the Dynksys runtime has determined your external IP address to be.  If N/A is displayed, then the runtime has not yet determined it.
   • Local IP Address - This is what Dynksys thinks you local IP address is.  Note that this may be displayed as 127.0.0.1 which is the loopback interface.
   • Last Update - This is the last time that Dynksys determined your external IP address was out of synch with the dynamic host name service and executed an update to your dynamic host name service.
6. Click OK to accept and save your settings for the Dynksys runtime.

Install as NT Service (e.g. Windows)

You can install the Dynksys runtime as an NT Service so that it is always running in the back ground.  The service will start when your computer boots and will insure that your dynamic host name is always up to date with your external IP address.

To install the Dynksys runtime as an NT Service, perform the following steps

1. Click on the Install NT Service shortcut in the Program Group from the Start Menu that is installed with Dynksys.
2. Open up the NT Services window by navigating to Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Services.
3. Click on the Dynksys Dynamic IP Updater Service and the click on the Start Service icon at the top of the console.

Run Dynksys runtime from the command line (e.g. Unix)

On a non-Windows platform the Dynksys runtime needs to be run from the command line, and should be running at all times to keep your dynamic host name service current.  You can start the Dynksys runtime by executing the following on the command line

java -jar dynksys.jar

Note: The java command must be run from the same directory that Dynksys was installed to.  I reads a file called dynksys.ser that contains all the configurations that were set using the Dynksys Configure UI.  The Dybksys runtime looks for this file in the current directory, so you must start if from this directory.

Trouble shooting

If you are experiencing problems with the Dynksys Dynamic IP Updater, view the dynksys.log file located in the directory that Dynksys was installed to.  By default this is C:\Program Files\Dynksys.  Examine the log file and try to determine what the problem is.  You can set the log level in the Dynksys configuration to ALL so that extra information is logged.

If the NT Service is failing to start, make sure that you took heed to the Important VM Notes in the Installing section.

License

Dynksys Dynamic IP Updater will update your network's external IP address to a host name service. Developed by Derek Wichmann.
Copyright (C) 2003

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA