Hiya Penguins

I will be (finally) taking the plunge and shifting from dial-up to broadband and am interested in setting up a web-server in a DMZ behind a firewall/router as well as a LAN. My query refers to how it is supposed to work if my ISP allocates a dynamic IP address (i.e. changes if I need to power down, etc.). If I were to register a domain name using lycos or whatever, and if the ISP changes IP addresses, how am I going to be able to maintain an accessible service? I hadn't planned on running a DNS, but I am unclear as to how a (sometimes) changing IP address can be associated with a particular hostname reliably.
For instance: would I need to register with lycos (for e.g.) and provide them with a potential range of IP addresses? Would this be solved through some kind of aliasing at the external-facing firewall and in which case, please steer me toward some decent documentation so that I can beef up on the concept? Or ... ?

I hope that, despite my confusion, my question is clear and I'd be appreciative for any light someone could shine on this for me please.

TIA all.

You'll need a dynamic dns service. Dyndns.org is one of the best known. I've been using the free part of their service for a year or so without any problems. (Other than my own user error once)

Yeah I checked dyndns out - they do dynamic dns for free don't they? Does that mean that you have to be for e.g. http://www.tireseas.dyndns.org? or could it be http://www.tireseas.org?
While I appreciate the tip, the question still remains: how does that work? Because I haven't grasped the concept, that process seems very much like pinning a tail on a moving donkey

Ok, here's the two-part answer:

1. You can read more about their services on their site, but they provide free services for subdomains of their own domains (i.e., yourhost.dyndns.org), and charge a small fee for yourhost.com.

2. Their service just provides DNS services, basically. The only key is that they can be updated through an automated program. A program running on your machine checks your IP and when it changes, updates the DNS records on their servers.

Thanks Matir. That makes more sense. I think committing myself to that route is a little further down the road from where I am at present, but this is good to know.

Thanks for your help

dyndns provides the domain name registration but that does not include DNS. they charge extra for that. just an fyi. I was annoyed when I registered a domain name with them and they wanted more money to provide DNS

Thanks for the head's up on that "hidden cost" gsgleason. What did you do? Pay the money or find an alternative?

alternative -

http://www.everydns.net/

they provide free DNS services. works like a champ.

deleted - double post ? server fault???

Look at www.freedom2surf.net (under business or specialist 50/1 - unlimited use) as they supply a competitive broadband price and static address. I have been using them for a year and have never had an outage (touch wood) and have run my server for 8 months.

Thanks TigerOC, but I'm not really in the market for a provider as I have a contract already, although as I am due to be connected soon, can't really comment on the quality, but the ISP does have a great reputation.

gsgleason : what is it about everydns.net that you like? Do they work with dynamically assigned IP addresses?

no dynamic dns, no. it's just free and works, that's all.