One DNS record, and we handle the rest
When your network has its own static IP, your domain needs exactly one DNS record pointing at it. You set it once. Change your internet provider, add a backup line or swap your router, and the record stays right, because the address doesn't move.
The usual way, and why it's fragile
Without a static address, a name like cameras.example.com has to chase an address that changes. That means dynamic DNS: a script or router setting that notices the new address and updates the record, with a short "time to live" so the change spreads quickly. Every piece can fail quietly: the updater stops, the provider changes the address while the updater is down, or a second line shows up with its own address. Behind CGNAT it doesn't work at all, because the address you'd publish isn't yours.
The TunnelNet way
- Add your site and get its static address in the portal.
- At your DNS provider, add one A record: your name, pointing at that address.
- Open the port you need in the portal, for the device on your network.
That's it. No updater, no short TTL, nothing to babysit.
What "we handle the rest" means
- The address stays the same. It lives on our network, not on your internet line, so a new provider or a new modem doesn't change it.
- Ports are forwarded from the portal. You choose which device and port people reach. On UniFi gateways our agent applies it for you; on MikroTik and OPNsense the ports come in the setup file.
- Failover keeps it. When your router moves to its backup line, the address goes with it. In our lab that took 2 to 3 seconds on MikroTik, 4 to 6 seconds on OPNsense and 2.3 seconds with the UniFi agent. If our own hub stays up but stops forwarding traffic, there is no automatic failover; those events go on our uptime page.
What's not here yet
- HTTPS certificates. Today, the server behind the port handles HTTPS itself, as it would anywhere. Automatic HTTPS on your own domain is coming soon.
- Reverse DNS (the name an address points back to) is coming too.
Questions: support@minakilabs.com.