Hi
On Mon, Nov 25, 2002 at 11:32:08PM +0000, Pigeon wrote:
> I am trying to set up my Linux box to connect to my Waitrose ISP
> account. I am using this one rather than my ukonline one because
> ukonline requires my box to fetch DNS addresses every time it logs on,
> whereas Waitrose has static ones - keep it simple.
That shouldn't really complicate things - pppd can take of that bit too
if you use the 'usepeerdns' option (and the ISP is willing to send them
to you upon connect).
> I have run pppconfig and entered all the details it asks for, no
> problem. I have followed the instructions in
> /usr/doc/HOWTO/ISP-Hookup-HOWTO.2.html to the letter, and set up the
> various files in /etc as that document describes. I get stuck at
> setting up /etc/ppp/chatscripts. The HOWTO has for this file:
>
> <snip>
> >CONNECT ""
> >TIMEOUT 5
> >"name:" ppp
> >
> >
> >The last line specifies that one is expecting a prompt that ends with
> >name:, and that the response should be ppp when it arrives.
> >Other systems may have other login procedures.
>
> I thought "may != will" so tried it verbatim, just to see what would
> happen. It dials up, negotiates the communication speed, apparently
> fails to log on, and hangs up after a few seconds - not entirely to my
> surprise.
All ISP's I know of are quite happy to go straight to PPP negotiation
once the modems are talking - the PPP protocol takes care of the
authentification.
But first: Get some more diagnostics out of the chat command by:
1) make backups of any files you change below !
2) let ppp call chat with the -v -s options
3) try (possibly as root): 'pppd nodetach debug call <peerfile>'
where <peerfile> is the name of the file in /etc/ppp/peers
4) don't forget step #1...
The above should result in the chat output going to your terminal.
If it appears that the ISP is sending gibberish after the modem reports
CONNECT (a burst every few seconds), then the ISP is probably going
straight to PPP. (Or you have some very weird line noise :-). If so,
then the last line in the chat script should probably just be:
CONNECT ""
Next is configuring the rest of ppp, with passwords etc.
/usr/share/doc/HOWTO/en-html/mini/ISP-Connectivity-2.html should help
you along here.
> So I asked support@waitrose.com for the necessary details, and got the
> wonderfully helpful response "we don't support Linux, please ask
> again, we can tell you if you tell us what you've put in already"...
> huh? I had already given them the above example from the HOWTO and
> said that's what I want...
<rant>
To the front line people it is almost as comprehensible as Greek with a
Urdu dialect. Whenever I call my ISP reporting problems with them I
prentend that I'm in front of the other OS. I have the correct answers
memorised to delete/recreate dial-up networking connections and a
suitable pause for reboots...
The great irony is that most ISP use linux (or *bsd) behind the scenes
anyway...
</rant>
> I also lack the details by which the server may authenticate itself.
> /etc/ppp/options warns me not to disable this (though I have at the
> moment).
Although the PPP protocol is symmetic, most ISP simply want to make sure
that you are who you say you are (caller line identification
nonwithstanding), and are unwilling to attempt to authenticate
themselves to you...
They don't regard the provider-customer relationship to be symmetric...
Just put a "noauth" line in the relevant file - /etc/ppp/peers/*. Don't
put it in /etc/ppp/options, though.
> I fear that these slightly surreal conversations will result every
> time I try to ask this ISP a question.
Sometimes it is possible to get through to somebody who knows what
they're talking about. E.g. have a windows box ready to let you get
past the front-line people. (vmware is great for that; just rollback the
disk afterwards).
> Please could someone suggest exactly the right questions to ask the
> ISP, so I don't have to keep ding-donging emails back and forth,
> rebooting from Linux to Windoze all the time cos the Linux box isn't
> on line yet?
Personally I would consider switching ISPs. There are linux-friendly
ISPs around - e.g. uklinux.net. No doubt there are others. For more
freedom, keep your email address independent of your ISP, e.g. by having
your own (sub)domain, and keep the ISP-provided email for backup if
things go wrong...
> Better yet, is there any online fill-in-the-boxes document that I can
> send them and say "please fill in this form"?
Good luck :-)
> A copy of the conversation so far is appended.
[...]
> >Primary DNS server: 192.126.82.5
> >Secondary DNS server: 192.126.86.9
You probably guessed that the DNS IP addresses go in /etc/resolv.conf ...
HTH
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