Domain

Direct access to your server without using a VPNYou will requireneed a domain name,name – such as www.wikipedia.orgexample.com – to directly access your services from outside your Local Area Network (LAN).  TheyWe canwill be configuring this domain name to forward traffic to our IP address on the Wide Area Network (WAN).

Domain names are purchased through a domain registrar and comethere withis a wide potential price range.  

If you are unable to purchase a domain name, dynamic naming services like DuckDNS allow you to accomplish this by registering a subdomain through them, such as myserver.duckdns.org

Domain registrarsRegistrars often algorithmically assign prices for available domains based on expected popularity and ICANN registration fees.  

Micro.Domains offers short 5-letter domain names at a reliable cost.

There are also free services that allow you to register an account and link your web server to their domain as a subdomain – such as DuckDNS or a similar Dynamic DNS service on your router.  These give you a sub-domain name to use – such as user.duckdns.org – that can be automatically updated to point at your server.