Useful Services
Certificates, time sync, graphing, dynamic DNS and automatic port forwarding.
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
- Certificate. Enable self-signed, Let’s Encrypt, or both, and set the passphrase.
- NTP Time Sync. Add one or more time servers.
- Graphing. Choose which statistics the router records.
- Dynamic DNS. Add one entry per provider you use.
- UPnP. Enable it and choose which link type it applies to.
- 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.