This article will help you choose the best redirect method for your situation.


General Redirection

Redirecting a Dynamic DNS (DynDNS Pro) host to a different location is a fairly simple process. When creating or editing a host, select the WebHop Redirect option under Service Type. Under the WebHop section, enter the full URL (including http://) of the desired destination. Optionally, you can cloak the redirect by selecting Yes, cloak this page and entering a cloaked page title. Finally, click Create New Host or Save Changes to complete the modifications. Barring caching issues, you should be able to visit the host and see the redirect within minutes.

How Does Cloaking Work?

When cloaking is enabled on a WebHop, frames are used to mask the address and title bars. The address bar will remain set to the original URL and the title bar will be replaced with the desired text. For example, if you create a WebHop for http://yourhost.oneofdynsdomains.org which redirects to http://some.otherdomain.com:8898/really/~long/url.html, the address bar will only show http://yourhost.oneofdynsdomains.org.


Redirecting to an Alternate Port (e.g. 80 to 8000)

EXAMPLE

http://yourhost.oneofdynsdomains.org/ redirects to http://yourserver.oneofdynsdomains.org:8080/

Some Internet service providers block common ports, such as 80 (HTTP) and 25 (SMTP). Using our WebHop redirection service, you can circumvent this port blocking by redirecting to your server on an alternate port.

To create an alternate port redirect, you will need two hosts:

Visitor Host
This is the host that visitors will access when trying to reach your server.
Destination Host
This host will be assigned to your network’s IP address.

For example, you want visitors to use yourhost.oneofdynsdomains.org to reach your website, but your webserver uses port 8000. The visitor host in this case is yourhost.oneofdynsdomains.org. You need to create a destination host, such as yourserver.oneofdynsdomains.org, and assign this to your webserver’s IP address.

Once yourserver.oneofdynsdomains.org has been created, you will need to change yourhost.oneofdynsdomains.org into a WebHop host record. The WebHop URL will be:

http://yourserver.oneofdynsdomains.org:8000/

Visitors to yourhost.oneofdynsdomains.org will now be redirected to yourserver.oneofdynsdomains.org, and the :8000 will tell their web browser to use the alternate port.

Remember, your visitor host yourhost.oneofdynsdomains.org must remain assigned to the WebHop server’s IP address. You should only update the destination host yourserver.oneofdynsdomains.org, so make sure your update client is only configured to update yourserver.oneofdynsdomains.org.


No Need to Enter a Port Number

EXAMPLE

http://yourserver2.oneofdynsdomains.org/ redirects to http://yourhost.oneofdynsdomains.org:8080/

Many users do not want to enter a port number when entering a URL. Using our WebHop redirection service, you can circumvent this by redirecting your URL to an alternate URL that includes the port number.

To create a redirect, you will need two hosts:

WebHop Host
This is the host visitors will enter when trying to reach your server.
IP Address Host
This host will be assigned to your network’s IP address.

For example, you want visitors to use yourhost2.oneofdynsdomains.org to reach your website, but your webserver requires a port number as in this example:  http://yourserver.oneofdynsdomains.org:8080.
When we are done, you will have (1) the IP Address host: yourserver.oneofdynsdomains.org assigned to your webserver’s IP address and (2) yourhost2.oneofdynsdomains.org (your WebHop host) redirects to yourserver.oneofdynsdomains.org:8080 (your URL with port number)

To Add a WebHop Redirect:
1. In the Add Hostname page on account.dyn.com, enter a new hostname for your visitors to use. Example: yourhost2.oneofdynsdomains.org
2. Select Service Type: WebHop Redirect (URL forwarding service).
3. Enter the URL with the port number into WebHop Settings (Redirect URL)  Example: yourserver.oneofdynsdomains.org:8080
4. Click Create Host to add the new hostname into your account.

Visitors to yourserver2.oneofdynsdomains.org will now be redirected to yourhost.oneofdynsdomains.org:8080.

Caution: Remember, your IP Address Host yourhost.oneofdynsdomains.org must remain assigned to the WebHop server’s IP address. You should only update the original URL yourserver.oneofdynsdomains.org, so make sure your update client is only configured to update yourserver.oneofdynsdomains.org.