chose new ISP, now can dial them but not connect

[Kevin Buettner]

On Jun 13, 11:18am, arthur dent wrote:

> I'm trying to switch over to a new ISP (Inficad).  My account has
> been set up on their end.
> 
> I have made the following adjustments on my end:
> 
> a) edited /etc/hosts to reflect new ISP's name, primary and
>    secondary DNS entries
> 
> b) edited /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/chat-ppp0 to reflect new
>    ISP's dialup number, my assigned account name and password.  This
>    file "listens" for  "ogin:" and "word:" before sending the account
>    name and password.
> 
> I can call their dialup number and our modems speak but I don't get
> connected, instead get a "ppp script failed" message in my
> /var/log/ppp.log file. 
> 
> So what might be wrong?  Did I forget to make some adjustment on my
> end, some file or setting?  I don't see any mistakes in my chat-ppp0
> file - could it be that my new ISP does not send the "ogin:" and
> "word:" strings and instead sends something else?  And if so what
> settings must I set to "see" exactly what our modems are sending to
> catch this so I can adjust my chat-ppp0 file to the correct strings?

I don't use Inficad, but can offer you the following (rather generic)
suggestions.  Inficad users will be able to offer you more precise
advice.

 1) Dial your new ISP using kermit or some other communication program.
    Enter your username and password and make note of the prompts.  Some
    ISPs give you a special username for PPP access.  Make sure you use
    that one if that's the case.

 2) You might need to use a chat script which does nothing more than
    dial the phone number and connect.  Some ISPs use PAP for user
    authentication.  In this case, you'll need to create a pap-secrets
    file in /etc/ppp.  This file simply tells pppd what username and
    password to use.

 3) Use the debug option on pppd and the -v switch for chat.  This
    will send debugging messages through the syslog facility.  You may
    need to fiddle with /etc/syslog.conf in order to get all of the
    output.  Alternately, you can use -V with chat which forces the
    debugging output to stderr.  (I can tell you from personal
    experience that seeing detailed log information will help
    immensely.)  Don't forget to turn off the debugging switches once
    you get things working.

 4) Finally...  once you get pppd working, you should try using diald
    to control your link to the internet.  pppd has a demand dialing
    feature, but I think that diald offers much greater flexibility
    over when the link is brought up and down.  (I have an ISDN
    router, but I still use diald on my linux box to control when it
    connects to the internet.)  Before you use diald, however, you
    should first make sure that you can connect with pppd and chat
    since you'll continue to use these utilities with diald.

Kevin