DDNS Mod. Instructions

Quick and Dirty Install Guide

Remember, use these instructions at your own risk.  The disclaimer on the SmoothWall DDNS Modification parent page apply.

These instructions require some basic knowledge of Linux and Windows. While we strive for idiot proof steps, it’s probably not. Remember that you can post questions in the forum. Instructions and files for previous versions of SmoothWall are available here.

The once sentence overview is that you will install and configure SmoothWall, enable remote connections, copy 3 files that you get from this webpage to specific locations on the SmoothWall, and setup a recurring cron job via SSH.

So here we go:

  1. Download SmoothWall Express 3
  2. Download the the files for the Dynamic Hostnames Port Forwarding rules mod files from this website by clicking below:
    Dynamic DNS Port Forward SmoothWall Mod. Installation Files
  3. Install SmoothWall 3 as per SmoothWall.org instructions
  4. From a workstation login to the SmoothWall web interface
    • Open a web browser to: https://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:441 (“GREEN” IP address)
  5. Install update 1. If there are updates beyond update 1, this modification may need to be recompiled. This mod is current to SmoothWall 3 as of 2007-12-27.
  6. Install the dynamic DNS hostname mod
    • Uncompress the zip file that you downloaded in step 2
    • In the SmoothWall web interface, enable remote access (check the “SSH” box) in “Services” –> “Remote Access”
    • Use WinSCP or alternate means to transfer the files from a workstation to the SmoothWall.
      • Visit WinSCP.net to get WinSCP. It is Open Source, and free.
      • To connect to the SmoothWall use the GREEN IP address and port 222
      • The login username is “root” and the password was set during the SmoothWall installation.
      • The root password can be reset by logging into the Secure Shell with user “setup” and the administrative password.
      • Ignore certificate errors – that’s normal since SSL certificates aren’t applicable to smoothwall best uk gambling sites
      • When prompted, overwrite existing files
        • copy portfw.cgi to /httpd/cgi-bin
        • copy sysiptables.so to /usr/lib/smoothd
        • copy crontab-root to /root (actually the folder is arbitrary)
  7. Install the cron job.
    • You have options on connecting to the SmoothWall.
      • You can log in directly with a keyboard and monitor attached to the SmoothWall PC
      • Or login to with the built in SmoothWall “Secure Shell” from the web admin screens (“Tools”-> “Shell”)
      • Or you can use any SSH tool, e.g. Putty. Use port 222 and the “GREEN” IP address.
    • Install the cronjob
      • Go to the folder where you copied crontab-root, i.e. “cd /root”
      • Install the job, i.e. type “crontab crontab-root” and press enter
      • Prove to yourself that it is installed by running “crontab -l” to list the jobs.
      • Reboot the SmoothWall machine. Run “shutdown -r now”. Or use the web interface to reboot the machine.
  8. Create the port forwarding rules
    • Go back to the web interface
    • Go to the port forwarding page
    • You should now be able to enter host names such as “lc.yi.org” and “leonard.dyndns.org”
    • Be extremely careful, invalid names can cause slowdowns or breakages in the system.
    • NOTE: There is a bit of a side-effect. For “ALL”, i.e. normal port forwards, you must enter 0.0.0.0/0 rather than the words “ALL”
  9. That’s it!

Some brief notes on how this all works

  1. Your dynamic hostname can point to a different IP address relatively quickly. Do this through your dynamic DNS provider’s tools or website. Typical DDNS providers such as DynDns.org anticipate changes will take 15 minutes or so to take effect.
  2. The cron job runs every 5 minutes on your modified SmoothWall. The task refreshes your SmoothWall’s database of which IP addresses map to which hostname. The port forwarding rules grant access to your local network.
  3. So, if your IP address changes, within a few minutes (usually) your SmoothWall will adjust to let you connect again.

Closing Notes

  • Good luck. Again, if you need help, go to the forum. You have a chance of getting help there!
  • An update to SmoothWall will probably break this modification. If you do an update, and your rules start generating errors, then you’ll need to sponsor a recompile, or do it yourself.

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