I have always used machines with winmodems. Consequently I could never configure a dial up connection during installation when I was running SuSe or Mandrake. This always had to be done post installation and after I had compiled and installed ltmodem drivers (modules) that would enable me to run winmodems in Linux.

After getting my winmodem modules installed, I would use kppp, the KDE front end to pppd, for configuring and making dial up connections. Kppp is user friendly, and while I'm now running Slackware and use other methods of interfacing with pppd, I still rcommend it to newbies or people having difficulties connecting.

Kppp is to be configured by each individual user. If you have more than one user on a standalone machine, kppp will have to be configured for/in each individual user account. That also means that you could have two people using two different ISP's with accounts on the same machine and neither could access the internet via other's ISP.

Even though you can set up a dial up account as a user with kppp you may still have to change some permissions. This will depend on what distro you are using. If you think you are having permission problems check a list for your specific distro and/or have a look at www.linuxpackages.org. Linuxpackages.org hosts distribution specific forums where you can get answers to your questions.

Configuration:

1. Start kppp either in a shell or via the "Internet" group in the KDE menu.


2. Click "Setup".


3. When KPPP Configuration opens up first click "Modem" tab.(


4. Next click the "Query Modem" button and if you see "Modem Ready" you know you have a modem interface.


5. If you don't have a modem interface Click the "Device" tab and check and see if you have the correct device selected. I use a winmodem which is set up a bit differently to an external modem. My modem device is /dev/modem which points to /dev/ttyLT0. Here's what an "ls" of my modem device looks like:
   
   

   rick@rick:~$ ls -l /dev/modem lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 11 Oct 15:25 /dev/modem->/dev/ttyLT0

   
   My other settings are: Hardware: [CRTSCTS], Line Termination: CR, and Connection speed: 115200.


6. If you now have your modem set up correctly proceed to enter your account details by hitting the "Accounts" tab and then selecting the "New" button.


7. You should now be presented with an option to use a "Wizard" or a "Dialogue Setup". I select Dialogue Setup.


8. In the next pop up window enter the name to be displayed for the ISP/connection. You can call it anything you like but I'll choose my ISP's name optusnet. Next hit the "Add" button and enter the telephone number used to access your ISP and then hit "OK" to exit that window.


9. You should now be back in kppp's :New Account" window. Select the "IP" tab and tic "Dynamic IP Address".


10. Select the "Gateway" tab and tic "Default gateway".


11. Select the "DNS" tab and enter the URL of your ISP. My ISP is www.optusnet.com.au but here I have to leave out the "w.w.w" and only enter optusnet.com.au.


12. Don't worry about the other three tabs/settings. They are not necessary for making a connection and if you want you can look at them later. Click "OK" once to exit from the accounts configuration window and then click "OK" a second time to edit from the kppp configuration window.


13. You should now be looking at the basic kppp interface that you would normally see when you click an icon or open kppp from the KDE menu.
    
    Enter your Login ID, Password and make sure that "Show log window" is ticked.
    
    Next try to dial ou by clicking the "Connect" button. The kppp log window should open up and tell you what is happening and once a connection has been made the kppp windows will reduce to buttons in your panel.

Troubleshooting:

It is beyond the scope of this document to conduct an in depth discussion of troubleshooting a bad dial up configuration. However, armed with enough information you should be able to sort the problem out by reading the appropriate documentation on the net and if that fails asking for help on a list or forum. Remember that you can always use Google's special Linux search facility at www.google.com/linux.

The kppp log window tells you what pppd is doing up to the point of connection. If you fail to connect you will get a popup window telling you why and you will be given the option of writing the error message to a file in /username/.kppp.log. This information may also be useful in troubleshooting a problem.

Also remember that once you are running an xsession you can open up a shell and run just about any application by typing in the command. For example in KDE I can open up the KDE shell, konsol, and start kppp by typing in "kppp" and hitting enter. This is very useful since messages that are normally hidden when you run an application from a menu or icon are printed to the screen in konsol and you may be able to see something that will help you troubleshoot a bad configuration.

	rick@rick:~$ kppp
	Opener: received SetSecret
	Opener: received SetSecret
	Opener: received OpenLock
	Opener: received OpenDevice
	Opener: received ExecPPPDaemon
	In parent: pppd pid 1442
	Couldn't find interface ppp0: No such device
	Couldn't find interface ppp0: No such device
	Couldn't find interface ppp0: No such device
	Kernel supports ppp alright.
	Couldn't find interface ppp0: No such device
	Couldn't find interface ppp0: No such device
	Couldn't find interface ppp0: No such device
	Opener: received OpenResolv
	Opener: received OpenResolv
	Opener: received OpenResolv
	Opener: received RemoveSecret
	Opener: received RemoveSecret

Note that in this instance, while it appears that I have a problem because I can't find ppp0, this is not really the case. Remember that I am using a winmodem and I would not be using ppp0 but rather ltmodem modules.