Putting Linux to Work: Dial to the Internet 

Start the Dialer through K>Internet>Internet Dialer. This will launch the Kppp graphical tool for setting up dial-up access to the Internet. Click on Setup, and in Account Setup click on New and select Dialog setup. Click on the Dial tab. For the Connection Name enter any name say VSNL. For Phone Number click on Add and enter the hunting number for your ISP. For example, if your ISP is VSNL, enter 172226. Select PAP from the Authentication drop-down list. Most ISPs support this type of authentication where you need not enter username and password interactively. Also, this is the default in Windows dial-up networking. However, if you wish to be prompted for the username and password in a terminal window, select Terminal based. This is similar to the ‘Show Terminal Window’ or ‘Bring up terminal window…’ option in modem configuration of Windows dial-up networking. When done, click on OK. 

Next, click on the Device tab and select a Modem device from the drop-down list. If your modem is connected to COM1 or COM2, select /dev/ttyS0 or /dev/ttyS1 respectively. In case of internal Winmodems, like Motorola SM56 (see using Motorola SM56 Win-modem, page 145, PCQuest, July 2001), which are connected to PCI slots instead of serial ports, select /dev/modem. Click on Ok. If you have selected PAP authentication then fill in the Login ID (your username) and the password. Click on Connect. If your modem does not dial, you may need to enter an AT initialization command. Click on Setup>Modem>Modem Command and in the Initialization String text field enter AT&FX1. 

Shekhar Govindarajan