If you are confused about the different configurations of your No-IP hostname, read along and see what each setting is used for.

DNS Host (A): An A Record is the basic setting for DNS. If you are setting up a new hostname with us, this option will most likely be what you will use. A Records are used to map your IP address (usually a dynamic IP address, or one that changes from time to time and is not always the same) to a hostname.

Example: If your IP address is 168.55.43.11, instead of typing that into your browser, you simply type your hostname (yourname.no-ip.org) into the browser. Every website uses A Records. Google, Facebook etc. If not for A Records, you would have to remember the IP address of every site that you want to visit. A Records make things easy.

DNS Host (Round Robin): Round robin is a bit more complex. It is similar to an A Record, but instead of pointing one IP address to a hostname, it points multiple IP addresses to one hostname. Round robin is used to achieve DNS load balancing on a server.

CNAME: This type of record is used to point one hostname (or multiple) to another. This setup makes updating multiple hosts that you want to have the same DNS settings easier. When the first is updated, the rest are as well.

Example: If myname.no-ip.com is a CNAME to yourname.no-ip.com, myname.no-ip.com inherits the DNS settings of yourname.no-ip.com

Port 80 Redirect: This option needs to be used if your ISP blocks port 80 like most commonly do.  It enables you to reach your server without having to type the port after the hostname.

Example: Without Port 80 redirect you would have to type in the following into your browser: yourhost.no-ip.org:8080
With Port 80 redirect you can simply type the hostname: yourhost.no-ip.org

Web Redirect: This maps your hostname to a web URL. Web Redirects only work for HTTP and cannot be used to remotely access your computer.

Example:  yourname.no-ip.com would redirect to www.yourname,.com. Traffic that types yourname.no-ip.com into the browser would be automatically redirected to www.yourname.com, effortlessly.

Assign to Groups: Groups simplify updating hosts. If you have lots of hosts and want to update them in an effective way create a group! By grouping your hosts you can use this page to update all hosts in your group to a given IP address. If you are an Enhanced or Plus DNS user, you can even create sub-accounts and password protect them.

Enable Wildcards?
A wildcard makes all subdomains resolve to the same record as the parent. So if you enable wildcard for yourname.no-ip.org, anything.yourname.no-ip.org would resolve to the same address as yourname.no-ip.org without explicitly creating that host. This is useful if you want to set up many virtual hosts for your personal web server.

Additional questions or comments on the basic setup of your No-IP free DNS host? Leave them below! As always, be sure to share this post on Facebook and Twitter and Click “Like” below!