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Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux
(Publisher: Macmillan Computer Publishing)
Author(s): Manuel Ricart
ISBN: 078971826x
Publication Date: 12/22/98

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Configuring the Modem Device

After you have an account configured, you’ll have to identify your modem device to kppp. You’ll need to go over your original notes identifying the COM port your modem uses under Windows. As an alternative, you can always try the four COM settings until you get it to work. To enable use of your modem as /dev/modem, you’ll need to use lisa (see Chapter 21) or simply create a link from the /dev/ttySx to /dev/modem (see Chapter 12, “Working with Files on the Shell”).

The modem devices are found under /dev/ttySx, where x is a number from 0 to 3. The various /dev/ttySx devices are mapped to the various COM ports. Table 8.1 shows a list of them.

Table 8.1 Device to COM Port Mappings

Modem Devices COM Ports

/dev/ttyS0 COM1
/dev/ttyS1 COM2
/dev/ttyS2 COM3
/dev/ttyS3 COM4


Setting up the Modem Device with the kppp panel.

To configure your modem device, the following options must be set.

  Modem Device—Select the device representing your; see Table 8.1.
  Flow Control—Choose CRTSCTS to enable hardware flow control.
  Line Termination—Select CR/LF line termination.
  Connection Speed—Select a speed appropriate for your modem. Those using 14.4 kbps modems should select 57600 bps. Users with faster modems should select 115200 bps. If your modem experiences problems at the speed you select, you can lower it later.
  Modem Lock File—Specifies where the lock file will be placed; leave it as it is. If you try to fire up another connection and this file is found, kppp will check to see if the process owning the file exists. If it does, it will tell you that the modem is busy.
  Modem Timeout—Specifies how long to wait until giving up. Leave the 60 second defaults.

Debugging the Connection

If you have followed this far, your configuration should be ready for testing. Click OK at the bottom of the kppp Configuration window to accept your configuration changes. In the kppp window, select your provider, and check the Show Log Window option. This will display a window that shows you the information received from your ISP and the information sent by your computer or script. This tool is invaluable to see problem spots in your login scripts (see the next two figures).

PAP is used by most ISPs, as this is the default authentication scheme for Windows-powered machines.


Testing the connection.


The debug window displays the information sent and received by your modem.

Connecting via Your Local Network

If access to the Internet is just across a network wire and your hardware was properly configured at install time, your network card should already be operational. The one thing you need to add is information about your DNS servers. DNS servers map machine names such as www.netscape.com to an IP address such as 207.200.73.73. Without DNS server entries, the only way for you to access a computer on the network is to know its IP!

Connecting to the Internet through your local network does not use the PPP, as discussed in earlier in the section.

To search DNS servers, you’ll need to edit the file called /etc/resolv.conf. As you would expect, this file should be edited while having superuser privileges (root). Alternatively you can use lisa. (See Chapter 24 to define these network settings. Sometimes, editing the file directly is simpler and faster.)

In this file, you’ll specify the IP addresses of your name servers as provided by your network administrator. My /etc/resolv.conf looks like this:

     domain execpc.com
     nameserver 165.207.1.3
     nameserver 204.29.202.6

The keyword domain specifies the domain name for your network. The nameserver keyword specifies the IP addresses for DNS servers to search when resolving a name to its IP.

After you edit the file, you should be able to use any of your programs to access the network, provided your network hardware was properly configured at install time. If it wasn’t, you’ll have to use lisa—(see Chapter 21) to configure your network card and router (gateway) information.


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