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Note: Linux is not
officially supported. These instructions were provided by a customer who got it
to work and wanted to help others with Linux.
(Also
see this link
from a customer who had success with a Merlin 128k PCMCIA Ricochet card and
Linux 2.2/2.4 And this link from a
customer with Ricochet GS 128k and Red hat 7.0)
This application note will walk you
through setting up a Ricochet PPP connection on Linux using the Network
Configuration tool in X-Windows. This tool is found on RedHat versions 4 and
later. This application note was based on RedHat 5.2.
Important Note: When using
Ricochet on Linux RedHat 6 (or any Linux distribution using the 2.2. kernel),
you must disable Van Jacobson compression. Please see below
for instructions on how to do this.
What
You Need To Get Started:
1. A Ricochet modem and
Ricochet service from an Internet Service Provider.
2. A RedHat Linux version 4
or later installed.
3. X-Windows installed.
4. Root access to the Linux
environment.
5. Know which COM port
Ricochet will be using.
Using
the Network Configuration tool (netcfg) in X-Windows
While a PPP connection can be set
up from the command line interface, using the Network Configurator
(netcfg) simplifies this process, and is described here. Note: In the
following instructions, "<enter>" indicates that the Enter key
should be pressed.
1. First log into Linux as
"root", and if you aren't already in X-Windows, at the command prompt
type:
startx .... <enter>
2. This will launch
X-Windows. You should now see an nxterm terminal window. At the nxterm
prompt type:
netcfg & .... <enter>
3. The Network
Configurator (netcfg) window will open, with the Names button
highlighted.
4. Click on the
Interfaces button, and the window will change to show any currently
configured network interfaces. To add the new PPP interface, click on the Add
button. You will now see the Choose Interface Type window, and PPP
should be selected. If not, please select it, and click OK.
5. You should now be in the
Create PPP Interface window. Leave these settings as they are.
6. Click on the Customize
button and you should now see the Edit PPP Interface window.
7. In the Edit PPP
Interface window, with the Hardware button selected, make sure that
the following boxes are checked:
Use hardware flow control and modem lines
Abort connection on well-known errors
8. Leave unchecked the Escape
control characters, and the Allow any user to (de)activate interface
boxes.
9. Line speed should be set to
115,200. Please leave the PPP Options setting blank. The Modem Port
setting will be covered next.
Setting
up the Serial Port and Deleting the Connect Script
1. While still in the Edit
PPP Interface window, you will need to enter the serial port to which your
modem is connected.This should be /dev/modem, provided you have used the modem
tool in control-panel to link the serial port to /dev/modem. If you have not
done this, please go to the next step.
2. Return to the nxterm
session that is running and type:
modemtool & .. <enter>
3. If nxterm is no
longer running, go to the modem tool icon in the control-panel
main window.
4. In the Configure
Modem window, select the correct serial port and click OK. This step
requires that you know which port Ricochet is using.
5. You can now return to
the Edit PPP Interface window. Make sure you have the correct Modem
Port of /dev/modem selected in this window, and click on the Communication
button.
6. In the Communication
settings, you will need to add the following (or replace with the following),
if not already present:
Modem Init String: AT&F&C1&D2
Modem Dial Command: ATDT
Phone Number: 3333
7. Since the Ricochet service
requires a connect script, under the Expect and Send section, you
will need to place the username and password after the ogin: and ord: entries,
leaving the TIMEOUT and ~-- entries. After editing the script, it should look
like this:
Expect .................... Send
ogin:........................ <your username>
ord:.......................... <your password>
TIMEOUT...... .............. 5
~--
8. Click on the Networking
button. If you want to have Linux dial Ricochet automatically at boot up, check
the Activate interface at boot time box.
9. Check the Set default
route when making connection box.
10. If you want to
automatically redial if disconnected, check the Restart PPP when connection
fails box.
11. Leave the remaining
settings in Networking as they are.
12. Click on Done,
and Save the current configuration.
Setting
up DNS Server Addresses
1. Back in the Network
Configurator window, click on the Names button. For Hostname,
enter the name of your Linux PC. For Domain, enter:
earthlink.net
2. In the Nameservers
box enter the following:
207.217.126.81 <enter>
207.217.77.82
3. Click on the Save
button.
Connecting
to WWC (Activating your PPP interface)
1. Back in the Network
Configurator window, click on the Interfaces button. Highlight the
PPP interface you created earlier by clicking on it.
2. Making sure your
Ricochet modem is turned on and blinking green, click on the Activate
button. You should hear Ricochet ring, and the modem's light should go from
green to yellow (or if you are using a Ricochet SE modem, you will see the
handshaking icon). You are now connected.
Using
Ricochet on RedHat 6
RedHat Linux 6 (and Caldera Open
Linux 2.2, along with other distributions of Linux using version 2.2
kernel) enables Van Jacobsen compression, which causes problems when using Ricochet
service. Previous versions of Linux do not enable this compression, and this
fix is not needed.
Without this compression disabled, a PPP connection can be made, but Web page
downloads (and other data transfers) stall and time-out.
To disable this compression in
RedHat 6:
Open the file /etc/ppp/options
in an editor and add the following text on a line by itself (without the
quotes):
"novj"
Note: Other distributions of Linux
may require a different syntax, such as "-vj ".
Save the change in your editor.
You should now be able to use your Ricochet Internet connection as you normally
would.