On Sun, 14 Mar 1999, Niels Ole Staub Kirkeby wrote:
> I have a permanent connection to my ISP through my cable modem. However
> this connection does NOT allow me to have internet access, only access
> to a login-server located at my ISP. I dont have to pay for this
> connection. I have a static ip-address for my PC. In order to gain
> internet access i must tell the login-server that i want to get access.
> Once i get access i have to pay some amount per minute. The access is
> controlled by some sort of NAT/firewall located at my ISP. I'm
> automatically logged off if there has been no traffic between me and the
> internet for a period of 5 min.
This is much clearer than your first post.
> What i would like to do is to have diald call the login-server to let me
> out if i need access and use the rules of diald to log me off again. I
> dont want to have a permanent connection since i pay per minute.
Yes, I think diald is just the right tool for this job.
1) With the route command, you should set up a special route just to your
ISP (where you telnet to "turn on the internet"). That way diald isn't
involved when you try to turn it on. Don't set up a default route to the
internet with the route command.
2) For starters, set up diald with the static ip you were given and the
defaultroute option. Have your connect and disconnect scripts just log
messages to some file in tmp or something.
Test the setup by starting some network app, say telnet to a location
other than your ISP. The connect script should run. While the first
telnet is waiting, telnet to your ISP and do whatever you have to do to
"turn on the internet". The first telnet should then connect. Log out of
the first telnet. The disconnect script should run. Then "turn off the
internet".
3) Now you can try to automate the procedure you use to turn on/turn off
the internet. Forget diald for a while. Install the "expect" utility if
you haven't already. Write an expect script the mimics your actions when
you turn on/off the internet.
Then split the script into two, one that starts it up and one that ends
it. I forsee a problem if you have to maintain a single telnet session at
the ISP while your internet is active. I hope that isn't the case. If it
is, you may need to keep the telnet process alive even after the connect
script has died. Offhand, I don't know how you can do that, but I'm sure
there's a way with expect.
4) Combine diald with the expect scripts: make those scripts the connect
and disconnect scripts for diald.
You may have trouble due to the timeout at the ISP end, but don't worry
about that until everything else is working. If you do have trouble, the
simplest thing to do would be to make sure most of your diald timeouts are
less than the ISP timeouts -- either make sure your filter file has no
timeouts larger than 5 minutes, or ask your ISP to extend their timeout to
10 or 15 minutes.
Ed
--
Ed Doolittle <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
"Everything we do, we do for a reason." -- Peter O'Chiese
-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-diald" in
the body of a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
