Dynamic DNS

VyOS is able to update a remote DNS record when an interface gets a new IP address. In order to do so, VyOS includes ddclient, a Perl script written for this only one purpose.

ddclient uses two methods to update a DNS record. The first one will send updates directly to the DNS daemon, in compliance with RFC 2136. The second one involves a third party service, like DynDNS.com or any other similar website. This method uses HTTP requests to transmit the new IP address. You can configure both in VyOS.

Configuration

RFC 2136 Based

set service dns dynamic interface <interface> rfc2136 <service-name>

Create new RFC 2136 DNS update configuration which will update the IP address assigned to <interface> on the service you configured under <service-name>.

set service dns dynamic interface <interface> rfc2136 <service-name> key <keyfile>

File identified by <keyfile> containing the secret RNDC key shared with remote DNS server.

set service dns dynamic interface <interface> rfc2136 <service-name> server <server>

Configure the DNS <server> IP/FQDN used when updating this dynamic assignment.

set service dns dynamic interface <interface> rfc2136 <service-name> zone <zone>

Configure DNS <zone> to be updated.

set service dns dynamic interface <interface> rfc2136 <service-name> record <record>

Configure DNS <record> which should be updated. This can be set multiple times.

set service dns dynamic interface <interface> rfc2136 <service-name> ttl <ttl>

Configure optional TTL value on the given resource record. This defualts to 600 seconds.

Example

• Register DNS record example.vyos.io on DNS server ns1.vyos.io
• Use auth key file at /config/auth/my.key
• Set TTL to 300 seconds

vyos@vyos# show service dns dynamic
 interface eth0.7 {
     rfc2136 VyOS-DNS {
         key /config/auth/my.key
         record example.vyos.io
         server ns1.vyos.io
         ttl 300
         zone vyos.io
     }
 }

This will render the following ddclient configuration entry:

#
# ddclient configuration for interface "eth0.7":
#
use=if, if=eth0.7

# RFC2136 dynamic DNS configuration for example.vyos.io.vyos.io
server=ns1.vyos.io
protocol=nsupdate
password=/config/auth/my.key
ttl=300
zone=vyos.io
example.vyos.io

Note

You can also keep different DNS zone updated. Just create a new config node: set service dns dynamic interface <interface> rfc2136 <other-service-name>

HTTP based services

VyOS is also able to use any service relying on protocols supported by ddclient.

To use such a service, one must define a login, password, one or multiple hostnames, protocol and server.

set service dns dynamic interface <interface> service <service> host-name <hostname>

Setup the dynamic DNS hostname <hostname> associated with the DynDNS provider identified by <service> when the IP address on interface <interface> changes.

set service dns dynamic interface <interface> service <service> login <username>

Configure <username> used when authenticating the update request for DynDNS service identified by <service>. For Namecheap, set the <domain> you wish to update.

set service dns dynamic interface <interface> service <service> password <password>

Configure <password> used when authenticating the update request for DynDNS service identified by <service>.

set service dns dynamic interface <interface> service <service> protocol <protocol>

When a custom DynDNS provider is used the protocol used for communicating to the provider must be specified under <protocol>. See the embedded completion helper for available protocols.

set service dns dynamic interface <interface> service <service> server <server>

When a custom DynDNS provider is used the <server> where update requests are being sent to must be specified.

Example:

Use DynDNS as your preferred provider:

set service dns dynamic interface eth0 service dyndns
set service dns dynamic interface eth0 service dyndns login my-login
set service dns dynamic interface eth0 service dyndns password my-password
set service dns dynamic interface eth0 service dyndns host-name my-dyndns-hostname

Note

Multiple services can be used per interface. Just specify as many serives per interface as you like!

Running Behind NAT

By default, ddclient will update a dynamic dns record using the IP address directly attached to the interface. If your VyOS instance is behind NAT, your record will be updated to point to your internal IP.

ddclient has another way to determine the WAN IP address. This is controlled by:

set service dns dynamic interface <interface> use-web url <url>

Use configured <url> to determine your IP address. ddclient will load <url> and tries to extract your IP address from the response.

set service dns dynamic interface <interface> use-web skip <pattern>

ddclient will skip any address located before the string set in <pattern>.