Hi!

I have a local http application server in the office connected to the internet using a dynamic IP. I need the other branches be able to access this http server through a domain name.

is that possible? what technology should be employed?

thanks guys!

Dynamic DNS is what your looking for. DynDNS handles making sure your ip address is always pointed at your box in the worldwide DNS system. If your router supports it, you can have your router set up to automatically send this information to DynDNS, otherwise you will need to install an updater applet into your OS. There are directions on the website.

The good part is it's free (to map ip-addresses to domains). You can either create a sub-domain from a list of domains they own (aka. yourname.dyndns.com) or you can buy your own domain name and have them keep the ip address for it updated. There is the possibility for it to not always work since there is some time involved in propagating ip-address changes in the DNS system, but if all you need is casual use, it will be fine.

There are other services like this one as well, this is just the one I've used before and recommend.

You really need to give more information. A "local http server that connects to the internet" really doesn't tell us much.

Is this a private server? When you say "connects to the internet" are you saying this is a production server, that is either natted or have a public IP, with port 80 opened so it can be accessed from the internet..or are you simply saying that "this is a private server that CAN access the internet?"

Anyway, if this is a private server, that you ONLY want other branch offices to be able to access it, there are several solutions. The most common solution is to just build site to site VPNs between the office WITH the server, and the offices that needs to ACCESS the server. IPSEC VPNs are the most commonly used between sites, it will require each office to be equipped with IPSEC VPN capable firewalls. Of course, this is all assuming that each site is subnetted uniquely.

Once you solve that problem, you'll need to look at an internal DDNS to provide dynamic name registration and lookups.

Anyway, provide more details so we can better help you first...I may be way off as you really didn't provide much information.

Okay, sorry .. i should have given more info bro!
Our local Apache server is the ERP application server of the office. We connect to it locally in our office using 192.168.1.77 (or our local domain name) since all the computers are connected to one LAN.

The server does not run 24/7 so every morning i reconnect to the internet again (with new IP), check what is my ip and call my colleagues in the other branch (i know that is really lame). So they paste that IP in their browser, it connects to our router (which forwards the port) then to the server.

it works but it is very lame. I want to use a domain ~~~ the VPNs abracadabra is too branched and i don't know really what to use!