Getting on the 'Net

The first thing I wanted to do after I got Linux installed was get back on the Internet. I needed to get my email and access all the online resources for Linux. I started with the PPP HOW-TO. This contains a lot of detailed technical information about daemons and configuration files, but after fiddling with it for hours I still wasn't on the Net. So I went poking around looking for other other tools, and I tripped over some things that I really wished someone had told me about.

KDE's kppp

Although I haven't had time to examine it closely, KDE comes with a very easy-looking Internet dial-up tool called kppp. It has a simple form to fill out with a "connect" button. It looks very much like the Dial-up Networking tool for Windows and should be just as easy to use.

To start kppp, open a terminal and type this command:

[user]$ kppp &

Press the Setup button to set up your new connection. Go to the modem tab first and press the "Query Modem" button to make sure Linux recognizes your modem. If it does, just fill out your ISP-specific information in the "Accounts" tab, and you should be ready to surf!

Red Hat Dial Up Tools

This section is based on Red Hat 5.2, a very old version. Things may have changed since this was written, so please pay attention to the screens as you fill them out.

First, you must be logged on as root. From the Red Hat control panel select Network Configuration, or from a terminal window run:

[root]# netcfg &

The first page of the dialog is called Names.
Hostname is the name of your computer. Your ISP doesn't care about that, but it must be filled in. The Domain field and Additional Domains to Search are optional, and I left them both blank. The NameServers box must contain the IP addresses of your DNS servers. This information should be provided to you by your Internet Service Provider.

The second page is called Hosts. You do not need to edit this page for a Dial Up connection.

The third page is Interfaces. Click ADD. Select Interface Type PPP (unless your provider specifically recommends SLIP). You will then be prompted for the phone number to dial, your PPP Login Name and PPP Password. Some providers use an encrypted form of password transmission called PAP (Password Authentication Protocol, I think). If yours is one of these, select Use PAP Authentication. My provider sends clear text logins and passwords, so I haven't used this. To verify this I suggest you call your provider. If they never answer the phone, it is possible to check by dialing in with a communications program as detailed in the PPP HOW-TO. Once your Login Name and password are filled in, click the Customize button.

A New Dialog Box called Edit PPP Interface appears.

The options on the Hardware Page are vital to the success of you Dial Up connection.

Use Hardware flow control and modem lines:

Every modem I have ever used has supported hardware flow control, so unless you know otherwise about your modem, go ahead and select this option.

Escape control characters:

I have no idea what this does, but it's turned off on my system and that works.

Abort Connection on well known errors:

On by default, I left it that way, works fine.

Allow Any User to (de)activate interface:

You must select this option if you want to dial up while you are not SuperUser.

Line Speed:

I chose 115200 since I have a 56K modem. This is probably a safe setting for any modem slower than that, but if it's an old modem try dropping back to 57600.

Modem Port:

The default should be /dev/modem. Leave it there, I'll show you how this works in a minute.

PPP Options:

Leave blank unless you know what you're doing (in which case why are you reading this?)

The Communications page contains some modem commands and support for some scripting in case you get more than a login and password prompt from your provider. Don't change anything here unless you know you need to.

On the Networking page, you must select Set Default Route when making connection. If you don't, you'll be pounding your head against the desk for a week like I did. Don't select Activate Interface at boot time unless you want to dial up to the Internet automatically every time you reboot the PC. Restart PPP when connection fails is self explanatory. I leave it turned off, because my provider hangs up after 30 minutes of inactivity, and I don't want the computer to keep dialing back if I'm not using the connection. The other options are for advanced geeks and should be left alone.

The PAP page is for those using this encrypted password protocol. You should have identified yourselves earlier. Since I have never used this, you're on your own here, but the page looks pretty self explanatory.

Finally, click DONE and instruct it to save your configuration.

There's one more thing we need to do, and that's make sure the system can find your modem. Get out that hardware list you made and see which COM port your modem uses. In the Red Hat control panel, click Modem Configuration, or run modemtool from a command window. Just pick the appropriate COM port and click OK. My modem was on COM2: so I picked cua1.

Now our PPP connection is configured. To test it, click Start -> Applications -> Networking -> Usernet; or run usernet from a command window. You should see a button called ppp0. Press it, and voila! Dial Up connection! If this didn't work for you, I'm terribly sorry, you've got some research ahead of you. The resources listed in this article should help. Good luck!