Re: Idea: a way to use /dev/modem symlinks safely

[Avery Pennarun <apenwarr@worldvisions.ca>]

On Thu, Apr 08, 1999 at 01:12:09PM +1200, Robert Donn wrote:

> I'm not sure if there is a 'right' way to do this, but I always used to have
> mgetty(-voice) running on /dev/ttySx and pppd (via pon) running on
> /dev/modem, so that I could still connect to the Internet without
> disabling/stopping mgetty first.

This is completely unnecessary.  mgetty unlocks the serial device as soon as
it has finished initializing the modem.  When it notices someone else has
locked, and then unlocked, the serial device, it locks it again briefly to
re-initialize, then unlocks it again.

Trust me, it works :)

If you confuse mgetty and pppd by using different lock files for each one,
you will probably be able to do nasty things (such as start pppd while
someone is dialed into mgetty, or while you're receiving a fax).

Have fun,

Avery