Point a subdomain to your home IP with cPanel Dynamic DNS

Home and small-office internet connections often get a new public IP address from time to time. If you run a camera system, NAS or test server at home, a fixed name such as home.example.com is much easier to use than an IP that keeps changing. cPanel's Dynamic DNS tool keeps that name pointed at your current IP, without a third-party DDNS service.

Before you start

• Your domain uses the MdmHost nameservers, so cPanel manages its DNS zone.
• A device at home that can call a URL regularly: a router with custom DDNS support, a NAS, a Raspberry Pi or any always-on computer.
• A subdomain name that is not already used in cPanel Domains or Zone Editor.

Create the Dynamic DNS domain

1. Open cPanel → Domains → Dynamic DNS.
2. Click Create.
3. Enter the Subdomain, for example home, and choose the domain.
4. Optionally add a Description such as Office router.
5. Click Create. cPanel shows a unique webcall URL like https://example.com/cpanelwebcall/abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456.

How the update works

When a device inside your network requests the webcall URL, cPanel reads the public IP the request came from and updates the A record (or AAAA for IPv6) of the subdomain. No username or password is sent; the secret is part of the URL.

Update automatically

With cron on Linux, macOS or a Raspberry Pi

Run crontab -e on the home device and add a line that calls the URL every 10 minutes:

*/10 * * * * curl -fsS https://example.com/cpanelwebcall/abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456 >/dev/null

With Windows Task Scheduler

Create a task that runs every 10 minutes with the action:

powershell -Command "Invoke-WebRequest -UseBasicParsing https://example.com/cpanelwebcall/abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456"

With a router or NAS

Many routers and NAS systems have a Custom DDNS option that accepts an update URL. Paste the webcall URL there. Providers that require a specific protocol (DynDNS2) are not compatible; use one of the methods above instead.

Check it works

1. Find your public IP with the IP checker.
2. Run nslookup home.example.com. It should return the same IP. The record uses a short TTL so changes spread quickly.
3. The Dynamic DNS list in cPanel shows the last update time and current IP.

Reaching services at home

The DNS name only gives you the address. To reach a device you still need port forwarding on your router and, ideally, HTTPS or a VPN in front of it. Never expose admin panels of cameras or routers to the internet without a strong password.

Troubleshooting

• IP never changes: the device calling the URL uses a VPN or proxy, so cPanel records that IP. Call the URL directly from your network.
• "Subdomain already exists": remove the existing record in Zone Editor or the subdomain in Domains first.
• Tool missing: Dynamic DNS needs a recent cPanel version and the feature enabled; contact support.

Next steps

• Manage other DNS records
• Create subdomains