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Linux Magazine / August 1999 / NEWBIES
Whether you use your computer to play games or to write letters, chances are you're going to want to connect to the Internet to use the Web or send and receive e-mail. That's the topic for this month: Getting connected.
Internet Service Providers
Finding an ISP is not difficult. The Internet landscape is replete with ISP offerings. There are local ISPs, national companies, phone companies -- even cable companies are offering Internet services. The going rate for unlimited access is $20 per month. Some charge more, others less, so shop around.
Most ISPs will give you an information kit when you sign up, but unfortunately the information they provide is almost always for Windows. I've yet to encounter an ISP that has an information package for Linux. But never fear, you can get by on your own.
When you sign up for service, make sure you get the following information from your ISP:
* Your login name (username) and password.
* The access number to dial your ISP.
* Your ISP's DNS or Name Server Address (often there will be two: a primary and secondary DNS address). The address is a series of 4 numbers separated by a dot (It will look something like 208.25.60.124).
* The name of your ISP's news server (It will be something like news. yourisp.net).
* The name of your mail server. Some ISPs provide two: one for incoming mail and another for outgoing mail. They will be called something like mail.yourisp.net and smtp. yourisp.net.
PPP
The relationship between your Linux machine and your ISP is fairly simple. Your ISP has a computer that takes orders from your computer such as "give me my mail," or "get me the Web page at http//linux-mag.com." Your computer and the ISP's computer are able to have this conversation because they are using a common protocol. A protocol is just a standardized method for exchanging information. The one most commonly used between an ISP and its customers is PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol). There's also another protocol which was popular a few years ago named SLIP (Serial Line Interface Protocol). Most ISPs offer PPP and so I'll assume you're using it.
Figure 1: Starting linuxconf. To configure PPP, you need to modify several files. With Red Hat Linux you get a program that will do all of the work for you. This program is called linuxconf.
Log on to your computer as root andstart X Windows. Open whatever shell window you wish and type the command linuxconf &. You will get a display similar to Figure 1 (I'm using the AfterStep window manager; you can use any window manager you like. See our story on pg. 42 for more on window managers).
Configuring PPP
Follow the menu selections to "Config -> Networking -> Client tasks -> PPP/SLIP/PLIP." Note that the display to the right of the scrollbar changed. On the right side click on the "Add" button and then select "PPP" and then "Accept" as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Select "PPP" then "Accept". Now, just fill in the information fromyour ISP: access telephone number (be sure to include "9" if you need that to get an outside line), login name (your "username"), and password. Note that your password will be shown in plain text, so if you want to keep it private then make sure you're aware of who's standing behind you while you type. The correct name for your modem portshould be /dev/modem; if it isn't, then you'll have to change it to the proper port (remember that Windows' COM1: becomes /dev/cua0 under Linux, COM2 becomes /dev/cua1, etc.)
If your ISP requires PAP, (Password Authentication Protocol) then check that box and select "Customize." Now select the "PAP" tab and enter the "Username" and "Secret" that your ISP provided. If they didn't tell you anything about PAP, don't worry about it because they probably don't use it.
When you've finished, click the "Accept" button at the bottom of the pagewith the "PPP interface ppp0" tab. This will now return you to the page with the "PPP/Slip/Plip configurations" tab at the top.
Your Communications Setup
Click on "ppp0" in the "Configurations" area and the right side display will change again [See Figure 3].
Figure 3: Configuring ppp0. Next, select the "Communication" tab [See Figure 4].
The important thing on this page is a series of boxes labeled "Expect" and "Send." When your computer reaches the ISP's computer it must automatically log in and then start a dialog.
Your computer will expect certain prompts from the ISP, and sends back predetermined answers. This happens without your assistance, so if your computer receives a prompt that it did not expect, then you can't step in to help.
As you can see, the dialog is already filled in and is probably correct, so you shouldn't need to change anythingon this page. If you have trouble connecting, then this is where you'll come to fix it.
Figure 4: Configuring PPP communication. Click on "Accept" to return to the "PPP/Slip/Plip configurations" page, and then select "Quit" to finish.
Configuring the Network
So far, you've enabled PPP and set up your computer to call your ISP and log on. Now you'll have to tell your workstation how to use your ISP to connect to the Internet and send and receive e-mail.
From the left side menu select "Config -> Networking -> Client tasks -> Basic host information." On the right side select "Adaptor 1" (yes, it is spelled wrong). Be certain that the "Enabled" box is checked and check the "Dhcp" box as well. Now go to the line labeled "Net device," and on the right side you should see an arrow pointing down. Click on that and a menu should drop down below it. Select the item "ppp0." Now click "Accept" to leave this page.
On the left side menu select "Config -> Networking -> Client tasks -> Name server specification (DNS)" [See Figure 5].
Figure 5: Resolver configuration. Earlier, I listed the information you'dneed to get from your ISP. We've already used the phone number, username, and password. Here's where we make use of the DNS information. In the "nameserver 1" field enter the four dot-separated numbers you received (it will look something like 208.25. 60.124). If your ISP gave you a secondary DNS address, then enter the second one in the "nameserver 2" field. Make sure that the "DNS usage" box is checked, and then click "Accept." Finally, click "Quit" at the bottom left to leave linuxconf.
