How to connect to computer without a static IP?

Is it possible to connect to a computer without a static IP?

I used before a remote desktop software that allows this, but I now wanted to setup a PC to run like a web server, mostly for development. Is it possible?

3 Answers

Yep. A dynamic DNS provider can help. Examples of providers include Dyndns.org and No-ip.org, and will give you at least one domain name for free (free accounts are usually restricted to a couple well-known domains, and you can add your own name to the domain, e.g. mysite.homedns.org).

It works like this: You sign up for an account, pick a domain name, and download/install their provided "Dynamic Update Client." You then configure the DUC with your account information. The DUC then monitors your IP and issues updates to the provider when your IP changes. So then, "mysite.homedns.org" will always resolve to your dynamic IP, except for a brief window when the DUC picks up on an update and notifies the service of your new IP.

Have had good results with both No-IP and Dyndns. Been using Dyndns for over 5 years with no problems.

Look for a "dynamic DNS" service. There are several.

Note that domestic ADSL is assymetric and optimised for client usage not server usage. Your ISP terms and conditions may prohibit hosting a server.

With dynamic IP it isn't only question of IP address changing during the time because many of the IS providers don't allow to customers receive connections from outside the network. In this case only if you buy static IP you will be able to make server-like station. This problem can be also solved with a server in the middle of connection - something like Teamviewer or Hamachi. It just means a DNS service will not solve this issue necessarily.