Hi all,

Running a basic webserver box w/ Fedora 11. I am using a standard broadband dynamic-IP Internet connection. Static IP would have been nice but it is too expensive.

Is there any kind of a script I can find (or write) which would detect when my external IP changes and then at least send me an email letting me know I need to update the information at my domain registrar? (It would be neat if there were a way to automate the IP update as well, but let's start with auto-notification.)

I don't run my own nameserver on my box; my registrar takes care of that. Would running my own DNS be of any help in this matter? I'd have to learn how to configure BIND/named/whatever, but if that's what it takes...

Thanks.

You have your own domain name, yes ?
For $29.95 per year, you could use dynDNS services which include an update client.
http://www.dyndns.com/services/dns/custom/

You don't say what kind of router you are using or whether it supports dynDNS updating.
If you do use a router and it does support updating dynDNS then that's the easiest route.
No need for bind or named in either case. That's for running nameservers, which you are not doing.

Yeah. I have my own registered domain...four of them in fact. Can I use them with dyn dns's service? I can't seem to find the answer to this question on the dyndns website.

My router does list dyndns.org and tzo.com in a drop-down list in the DDNS section of the configuration screens. Ultimately what I want to do is set up a scheme whereby some mechanism checks my IP - say, daily - and if it's changed, at least send me an email so that I can update my information manually at my domain registrar. (Later on, I'd like to figure out a way to automate that part of it as well.) I can't possibly be the only guy out there trying to run a webserver with a dynamic IP'd connection.

Previously, when I did have a static IP, I simply programmed the router with the IP, subnet mask, and gateway info provided by my ISP, then set up port forwarding to send all inbound port-80 requests to the webserver. I was also using name-based virtual hosting inside the Apache config file.

Would I still be using port forwarding?

Yes dyndns can do 4 domains but it costs more.
nettica are cheaper at $10 per domain but they don't have a linux update client.
http://www.nettica.com/Domain/Dns.aspx

And yes, you will still need to use port forwarding.