To use your node on the Allstar network, you need to have a fully qualified domain name. A fully qualified domain name is one which is made up of alphanumeric characters (e.g. foo.bar.com). The Allstar node number assignment authority cannot use numeric IP addresses are typically in dotted quad notation (e.g. 123.121.123.121).

If your ISP assigned you a static IP address, you can use one of several DNS services on the web (e.g. easydns.com) and a domain registrar (e.g. dotster.com) to get a fully qualified domain name. You will need to purchase a domain name first, then use a DNS service to map that domain name to your static IP address. Once you verify the domain is indeed pointing to your static IP address, go to allstarlink.org and request assignment of your node number. Since this article is directed towards using Dynamic DNS, I will not cover the details of how to set up a node for static IP addresses here.

Most ISP's do not assign static IP addresses to residential users. Instead, they temporarily assign an IP address from a pool of free IP addresses using a protocol such as DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). This means the IP address may change as the system is rebooted, and ISP can also force your PC to get a new address after a period of time elapses.

The Dynamic DNS provider is the central authority mentioned above. It provides a DNS name to IP address database and a Dynamic DNS Client which works with that database.

One such outfit is no-ip.com. If you visit their site, you will see that they have a method to sign up new users, and a "downloads" tab for thier clients. They offer 3 clients one for Windows, one for Mac, and one for Linux.

We are interested in the Linux client. From the Linux PC, download the linux client. It should place the file: noip-duc-linux.tar.gz on your system. Unpack this file in a temporary directory, and a directory noip-X.Y.Z should be created. Change into this directory and read the README.FIRST file. The README.FIRST file explains how to install the client on your Linux PC. Note that this is usually done by executing the following commands as root:

Once the client is built and installed, you need to set up an account on no-ip.com. Go to their site and register for an account following thier instructions. Once you have registered, you will need to select a domain name suffix and a host name for your system. We like to use the format "callsign-location.sytes.net". You would choose the "sytes.net" suffix and then specify the host part.

To add your fully qualified domain name, use the 'add' selection under Hosts/Redirects. Type in your callsign-location part in the first box at the top, then select 'sytes.net' from the second box. Select 'DNS A' for the record type. You may leave the third box (IP address) and the fourth box (Group) blank. At the bottom of the form, click on the CREATE HOST button. If the callsign-location is not used, then you should get sometihng like this:

The host xxx-yyy.sytes.net resolving to 123.121.123.121 has successfuly been added to our system. New additions will take up to 5 minutes to become live on our DNS servers

This will configure the client. You will be asked to provide your user name, password, and confirm the use of the fully qualified domain name you just finished registering above. You must have finished the registration process at no-ip.com and added your domain for this to work.

You may now run the client. This is best done by adding the command /usr/local/bin/noip2 to rc.local (Fedora distribution) or an equivalent script file which gets executed when the system completes its boot process.

After the client is running, log back in to your account at no-ip.com. You should see your IP address registered for the domain name you selected.