PPP Configuration

Once the pcmcia software has been removed, the next offer will be to configure a PPP connection to your ISP. This option is offered at this time to enable the rest of the installation to proceed over the Internet. This installation is being done using the CD-ROM, so the connection is not needed yet, but this is as good a time as any to configure PPP.

Set Up a PPP Connection? The default option is set to <No>, so tab over to the <Yes> button and press ENTER if you wish to set up your PPP connections now.

If you answer <No> here, then skip ahead to page .

You can always configure PPP after the installation is complete by executing the script pppconfig. It is this script, used by the installation, that will be described in the next several pages.

When you answer <Yes> to the previous screen this script starts with the following screen.

PPP Configuration Main Menu This is the main menu. This configuration script creates a set of peer connection scripts that the PPP daemon will use to establish the connection with your ISP. This allows for the configuration of more than one ISP connection, which can be useful when you have more than one service provider.

Create a connection is the choice to make when creating a new peer configuration. If you made a mistake with a previous configuration you may edit it by choosing Change a connection. Remove a peer with the Delete a connection option and quit with Exit this utility. Choose Create a connection and the next screen is presented, providing a field to name the peer you are configuring.

Name the peer This name will be used to identify this peer configuration.

The name provider is supplied as the default. If you don't use this label for your connection (Dwarf prefers home), the installation program will not be able to establish a connection, as it expects the name provider. For the CD-ROM installation method this is not a problem, and you will be able to make the connection using pon with the correct name for the peer that you used during configuration. Whatever name you enter here will deliver the next screen.

Choose DNS Type This next screen is used to declare which sort of name service you will use with this provider.

The default, static, is the most likely. That is, you are always going to use the same Designated Name Servers for this ISP. If you are on a LAN, the system administrator for the LAN will tell you what these numbers should be. If you choose Static the next two screens will ask for the IP address of the primary and secondary name servers.

First Designated Name Server Place one IP address in the field provided on this screen for your primary name service.

Second Designated Name Server Place the second IP address in this field for the secondary name service. The next screen offers a selection of Authentication Methods to choose from.

PPP Autorization Methods The first choice, PAP or Peer Authentication Protocol, is the most likely choice. Unless your Internet Service Provider indicates otherwise, PAP can be expected to work just fine.

Depending upon which option you choose here, there will be minor differences in the questions. The following pages will follow the screens for the PAP option. This next screen asks for the User Name. This label is the account name provided by your ISP.

PPP Login Account Name Delete the contents of this line, and enter the user name provided for this account.

When the correct value is supplied on the entry line, you only need to press ENTER to move to the next screen. This can be a bit confusing. Some screens, without either button active, will press OK when the string has been entered. Other screens, such as ones providing multiple options, will require a TAB to the proper button for it to become active. Most of the single line string fields on a screen will activate the <Ok> when ENTER is pressed. The next screen asks for your password. This is also a string provided by your ISP.

PPP Account Password Replace the default string with your password and press ENTER to move to the next screen. This screen deals with the default speed of the modem, and provides a default value. This value indicates the fastest speed your modem port can use.

PPP Default Modem Speed Regardless of the speed of your actual modem, the default value presented is most likely adequate and should not be changed unless you know exactly why it should. Press ENTER to move on to the next screen. The following screen presents the choice between Tone dialing and Pulse dialing.

Phone Dialing Method Unless you are dialing through ancient phone equipment, you will most likely choose Tone. Dwarf is not aware of any place in the world where such equipment is being used to connect to the Internet. That doesn't mean that you will never need this option, which is why it is offered. If you find yourself in this circumstance, please contact the author and relieve his ignorance on this issue.

TAB followed by ENTER will accept the selected value and move on to the next screen. This is a screen asking for the phone number used to connect to your ISP.

Dialup Phone Number This is not the number you use to talk to someone in the office of your provider, but rather the number used to dial the modem of your providers dialup machine.

Replace the placeholder string with the appropriate phone number, without any dash (-) or space between the numbers. Simply press ENTER when this value is correct. The following screen is an introduction to the modem selection process to be used next.

Manual or Automatic Modem Selection The modem can be detected by the configuration script by pressing ENTER and selecting <Yes>. If you know the device name for your modem, you get the chance to enter this by selecting <No>.

The simplest choice is <Yes>. Although this may take a few seconds to probe each serial port, the choice is almost always correct. Even if it turns out to choose the wrong port (you may have two modems), you will still have the chance to change the port in the following screen. Choosing <No> will provide a screen detailing all the modem ports available, with the chance to enter the correct value, and is a bit less informative about the actual state of your hardware. Assuming you have pressed <Yes> on the previous screen, the screen below is presented after each port has been probed.

Selected Modem List Use the space bar to mark the entry under the cursor. You can move down the list using the arrow keys, and TAB to the <Ok> button when the correct value is represented. Finally the PPP configuration finishes with the following screen detailing the values you have just entered.

PPP Configuration Confirmation Unless you have special needs (like special init strings for you modem) you are finished and only need to arrow key down to the Finished option and press ENTER.

One final screen details what the configuration program has created on your system to produce the completed configuration.

PPP Completion Dialog This completes the PPP configuration and pressing ENTER returns to the PPP Configuration Main Menu.

PPP Main Menu Use the arrow keys to move the cursor down to the Quit option and the rest of the installation will proceed. You could, of course, configure another peer, or edit the peer configuration you just completed.