Technical Support Frequently Asked Questions

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Connnecting using PPP

Install the package PPP if you have not done so already. You will have two binaries under /usr/sbin or /usr/local/sbin. One is pppd which is used for initializing the PPP connection. The second one is called chat, which is responsible for the communication with your modem. There are several  ways to setup a connection to the Internet using pppd and chat. We will cover one of the ways.

1. First type su - to switch to the root user. We need to change to the root user so we can save files that are owned by root.
2. Next we will add the DNS server information. This is in the file /etc/resolv.conf. You can edit this file with a text editor, such as vi, pico, or ed. The contents of this file should be as follows:

     
     nameserver 209.237.0.8
     nameserver 209.237.0.2
     

3. Change to the /etc/ppp directory by typing cd /etc/ppp
4. We will be editing/creating four files in this directory. The first file is called options. Its contents are as follows:

     lock
     asyncmap 0
     mru 552
     mtu 552
     defaultroute
     0.0.0.0:0.0.0.0
     crtscts
     debug
     -detach
     modem
     /dev/modem   (this line can be different depending what your system calls your modem)
     57600
     user username
         

   Make sure you replace username with your actual username.
   
   
5. Next we will edit pap-secrets. Its contents are as follows:

     username        *        password
         

   Make sure you replace username and password with your actual username and password.
   
   
6. Now we move on to ppp-on. Its contents are as follows:

     #!/bin/sh
     /usr/sbin/pppd file /etc/ppp/options connect '/usr/sbin/chat -v ABORT \
     "NO CARRIER" ABORT "NO ANSWER" ABORT "BUSY" "" ATDTnumber CONNECT'
         

   Make sure you replace number with your local dialup number. 
   
   
7. The last file is called ppp-off. Its contents as as follows:

     #!/bin/sh
     kill -INT `cat /var/run/ppp0.pid`
         

8. Now you need to set the permissions for these files. Type the following commands:
   
   

     cd /etc/ppp
     chown root.root *
     chmod 600 pap-secrets
     chmod 755 ppp-on
     chmod 755 ppp-off
     chmod 644 options
         

9. Make sure you add the /etc/ppp directory to your PATH variable.

You should now be set to connect! To make the connection, type ppp-on. To disconnect, type ppp-off.

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