Nightscout@GCloud: Change freedns subdomain / hostname

[emp-00]

I have a NS instance in GCloud set up a few years ago via navid200's instructions, all scripts & NS are up-to-date and running fine.

Question: I would like to change my freedns subdomain/hostname. How can I do this e.g. via the "script menu" or by editing a config file?

See below, currently my old freedns hostname is somehow registered in the scripts, it's shown on the status page. When I open the url in my browser, I get no errors, Let's Encrypt certificate is valid (for this old subdomain!). I already registered a new subdomain @freedns.afraid.ord and I can open it in my browser, it redirects successfully to my GCloud NS-instance. However, obviously the certificate is not valid and the connection is insecure because the NS-configuration is still using the old hostname. Strangely, the browser tells me the certificate is from nightscoutXXXX.ddns.net (see below) -- this is actually my old subdomain from no-ip.com, which I used initially but this was years ago?!! How can I fix these issues? I have searched all menu items but cannot find an option where to enter a new hostname. My freedns username/pwd have not changed, I only want to switch to a new subdomain.

Would it even be possible to register two or three different subdomains instead of only one? My issue is, that my old subdomain is now blocked by my VPN provider (they refuse to remove it from their blacklist), therefore I would like to have one or two freedns backup-domains ready in-place in case this happens again. Thanks for helping out!

[Navid200]

It takes a while for an existing certificate to expire.

You can easily switch from one hostname to another:

• Create a new subdomain .
• Run Install Nightscout phase 2 from the Google setup submenu.

When you run phase 2, it asks you for the user ID and password of your FreeDNS account. You have to enter the correct values. I mean if you have multiple FreeDNS accounts, you need to enter the credentials for the account with the new subdomain.
After you complete phase 2, the menu you are showing will show the new hostname and password. The fact that it is still showing the old values means you have never successfully run phase 2 since. Restarting the server after completing phase 2 is a part of the process. Without it, nothing will change.

This explains how to change a hostname: https://navid200.github.io/xDrip/docs/Nightscout/ChangeHostname.html

[emp-00]

Thank you @Navid200 ! This worked exactly as described (Sorry, I must have missed the FAQ page!)

Just FYI, when running phase 2, I got scared because the below error popped up (I entered everything correctly, still it threw "Challenge failed for domain mydomainnameatfreedns.XXXX.net). This page was visible for approx. 30 seconds, then the screen was cleared, some more log-text was displayed but it was too fast for me to snip or read, took <3 seconds. Then a message box claiming phase 2 was complete, I clicked "OK" .... and .... in the end, it all works! New domainname has successfully received a new certificate which is now shown as valid in the browser - despite the scary error message. Excellent!

Note: You might consider adding information in the script menu what "phase 2" actually is doing respectively what the user can use it for. I had no idea "phase 2" is actually responsible for updating the freedns domain/hostname/certificate. Maybe you could show this in the menu as short explanation (or link to a help-page with the details) and maybe you could also improve the status page showing something like "For additional NS@Google Cloud and freedns-related options please refer to https://navid200.github.io/xDrip/docs/Nightscout/GCNS/FAQ.html". Just a stupid proposal - I'm sure with such hints in the script menu, I would have been able to figure this out by myself.

THANKS a lot for the excellent work on the scripts, your friendly support and much more!

[Navid200]

Thanks for the suggestions

We are switching to Ubuntu 24 and a lot of work is ongoing behind the scenes. And it is intended to improve the menus.
Some of your suggestions are already in place.
We will use your suggestions.

Thanks