# Useful Services

> Certificates, time sync, graphing, dynamic DNS and automatic port forwarding.

Source: https://joinnasnet.com/en/guides/nasnet-connect/extra-config/useful-services/
Last updated: 2026-08-14

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## Overview

**Useful Services** collects the supporting services that make the rest of the
configuration work properly. The wizard describes them as *"Configure advanced
network services with detailed settings and modern interface for optimal
performance."* It has two faces: an
Easy layout that is just a row of on/off cards, and an Advanced layout that
breaks each service into its own configuration sub-step.

Two of these are not optional in practice. Certificates are required if you
enabled SSTP, OpenVPN or IKEv2 on the **VPN Server** step. NTP matters because
certificate validation and scheduled tasks both depend on the router knowing
what time it is.

## Before you start

- If you need a Let's Encrypt certificate, the router must be reachable from the
  internet at a resolvable name, which usually means setting up DDNS first.
- Have your DDNS provider credentials ready.
- The certificate passphrase must be at least 10 characters. It is used to
  encrypt the certificate for export to VPN clients, so keep it.

## Steps

1. **Certificate.** Enable self-signed, Let's Encrypt, or both, and set the
   passphrase.
2. **NTP Time Sync.** Add one or more time servers.
3. **Graphing.** Choose which statistics the router records.
4. **Dynamic DNS.** Add one entry per provider you use.
5. **UPnP.** Enable it and choose which link type it applies to.
6. **NAT-PMP.** Enable it and select the interface it runs on.

## Reference

Advanced sub-steps:

| Sub-step | Purpose |
| -------- | ------- |
| **Certificate** | Configure SSL/TLS certificates |
| **NTP Time Sync** | Setup time synchronization |
| **Graphing** | Configure network monitoring graphs |
| **Dynamic DNS** | Configure dynamic DNS providers |
| **UPnP** | Universal Plug and Play configuration |
| **NAT-PMP** | NAT Port Mapping Protocol setup |

Certificate types:

| Type | Description |
| ---- | ----------- |
| **Self-Signed Certificate** | Quick setup for internal use |
| **Let's Encrypt Certificate** | Trusted by all browsers |

DDNS fields:

| Field | What it does |
| ----- | ------------ |
| **Provider** | The DDNS service, one of No-IP, DynDNS, DuckDNS, Cloudflare, or Custom |
| **Custom Server URL** | The full URL for your DDNS update endpoint, for a custom provider |
| **Hostname** | Your dynamic DNS hostname |
| **Username/Email** | Your DDNS service account |
| **Password/API Key** | Your service password or API token |
| **Update Interval** | How often to check for IP changes, either 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes or 1 hour |

Graphing options:

| Option | What it records |
| ------ | --------------- |
| **Interface Monitoring** | Per-interface throughput |
| **Queue Management** | Queue statistics |
| **System Resources** | CPU, memory and disk |

## Troubleshooting

**"Certificate required."** You enabled a VPN server protocol that needs SSL,
meaning SSTP, OpenVPN or IKEv2. Configure a certificate here.

**"No Interfaces Available" on NAT-PMP.** No WAN links or VPN clients have been
configured yet. Go back and configure at least one on the **WAN** step, or leave
NAT-PMP disabled.

**UPnP over a VPN link.** The screen warns that UPnP may not work with all VPN
configurations, and that the tunnel must allow UPnP multicast traffic.

## Related

- [VPN Server](/en/guides/nasnet-connect/lan/vpn-server/)
- [Reboot & Update](/en/guides/nasnet-connect/extra-config/reboot-and-update/)