Hi everyone,

a couple of friends and I have a Jellyfin server running which is exposed to the internet via a reverse-proxy and https by using a free dynDNS provider.

The setup is working fine besides the dynDNS provider. We constantly face connection issues, making the dynamic DNS functionality very unreliable.

So I started looking into possible solutions and one particular would be to buy an own domain which would only cost a few bucks each month. With this I could keep the current setup and would just need to change the domain (and possibly the SSL certificate). I found a provider over which I could buy (rent?) a domain and which also provides dynDNS functionality. But I am not too sure if I understood this correctly:

  • if I have an own domain, why would I need the additional dynDNS functionality? I would guess that I would just continue updating your server’s IP address to the domain name like we are doing now
  • can the provider over which I rent the domain with servers in my country actually see what our traffic is? Especially since we are streaming our movies etc.
  • is there a better way of obtaining and setting up your own domain also in terms of privacy and reliability than with a bigger company offering such services?

Thanks a lot for your feedback!

Edit: An important fact I forgot to add in my main post is that during these issues, the general server connection should be fine since it is located at a friends house and his internet connection is unaffected (e.g. we could still talk in Discord normally and he had no internet issues whatsoever)

  • Zikeji@programming.devEnglish
    5·
    6 hours ago

    Let’s back up some - a free dynDNS provider would not cause connection issues, unless DNS resolution itself stopped working - which is unlikely. It sounds more like the Internet you’re running off of itself has issues. What in particular is making you blame the dynDNS? Who is it?

    • iturnedintoanewt@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      6 hours ago

      … Check duckdns constant resolution issues. There’s lots of threads about their inconsistency and unreliability. Can’t really complain, because it’s truly free, but there’s no full week that goes without issue.

        • dingleberrylover@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
          1·
          5 hours ago

          For me it seems like a very similar issue with these inconsistencies. Why would your think it does not really match? Especially given that the network connection of our server location is always fine during these down times?

          • Zikeji@programming.devEnglish
            2·
            4 hours ago

            Your connection being fine during downtime is a new detail not in your original post that changes the dynamics. That being said I believe my other response should be helpful.

    • dingleberrylover@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2·
      6 hours ago

      I am using dynv6.com. The reason I blame the DNS resolution is because when I have issues connecting (as if the domain is not available), it does not mean that my friends cannot connect either. The server is at a friends house who has a fiber connection and who has no issues when we habe trouble connecting again. I could be totally wrong, but to me it sounds like dynv6 has some troubles.

      I also have a script running, which constantly updates dynv6 with our current IP address.

      • Zikeji@programming.devEnglish
        2·
        5 hours ago

        Well, it can’t hurt to cross it off. You don’t need to get a domain from a registrar that offers dynamic DNS, you just need to register a domain (or try another dynamic DNS like the other user suggested) and use a DNS provider that is free and offers an API. I personally use Cloudflare, there are plenty of guides for setting up a dynamic record on CF.

        For registering a domain you can use an affordable registrar, I’m a Porkbun customer - for a .com domain it’s like $11 for a year. No need to spend monthly.

        • dingleberrylover@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
          1·
          4 hours ago

          I looked into porkbun and it seems that they already offer a Cloudflare API for dynamic DNS. Why did you choose to separately use Cloudflare? Bit otherwise it looks promising to give it a try.

      • cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
        2·
        5 hours ago

        I used to use dynv6, but I started having issues about 2 years ago. DNS records would just stop resolving until I deleted and recreated them. Their forum has been broken for years, so there’s no way to get support.

        If you only need 5 records or less, give FreeDNS a try.