Linux diald

Options file

This file contains options that govern diald's connection negotiations.

It is stored in /etc/diald/diald.options.

    fifo /var/run/diald.fifo
    accounting-log /var/diald/log
    mode ppp
    proxyarp
    device /dev/ttyS0
    modem
    speed 38400
    crtscts
    lock
    connect  "/usr/sbin/chat -v -f /etc/ppp/ppp.chat"
    connect-timeout 30
    dial-fail-limit 5
    defaultroute
    local 10.0.0.1
    remote 10.0.0.2
    dynamic
    two-way
    reroute
    strict-forwarding

This file contains parameters that control diald's negotiation with Enterprise's PPP server as well as purely local aspects of diald's behaviour:

• fifo This is followed by the pathname of a named pipe (or FIFO), which you can use to send commands to the running daemon. If it does not exist, diald will create it, but if you create it, you can give it proper permissions.

  To create it, use the command

  	mknod -m mode pathname p
  

  where mode specifies the permissions to be applied (e.g. 660).
• accounting-log This option takes a string argument, which is the name of a file where diald is to record the telephone calls it makes. The log includes all attempts, not just successful ones, and the time recorded is the total time from starting the chat script to dropping the call.
• mode This specifies the mode in which the connection is to be run. The only mode described here is ppp.
• proxyarp diald should respond to arp queries on behalf of the remote server.
• device This is followed by the device name of the serial port which is to be opened to talk to the modem. This should be /dev/ttySn unless you are using ISDN. Do not use /dev/cuan; the cua devices are obsolete.
• modem This option tells PPP to watch the modem control lines in the serial interface in order to see whether the serial connection is up or not.
• speed This option specifies the baud rate for the modem.
• crtcts Flow control to the modem is to be done by RTS/CTS hardware handshaking.
• lock This option tells PPP to use a UUCP-style lock which prevents any other program (that uses the same lock) from trying to access the serial line.
• connect This option takes a string argument, which is the command to be run to initialise the connection. I have it set up to run chat and to read its conversation from my chat script.
• connect-timeout If the connection has not been made in this many seconds, give up.
• dial-fail-limit If diald fails to make the connection this many times in a row, make no further attempts.
• defaultroute diald is to set itself up as the default route for IP packets which are not for the local network. When there is no link, the default route will be to the SLIP interface; when it is up, the default route will be through PPP.
• local Specifies the local IP address for the link. If you use dynamic, as I do, this will be overridden once the connection to the ISP is made.
• remote Specifies the remote IP address for the link. If you use dynamic, as I do, this will be overridden once the connection to the ISP is made.
• dynamic The ISP assigns dynamic IP addresses; these will override the addresses specified by local and remote.
• two-way If the link goes down, diald will normally redial immediately. This option prevents it from redialling unless there is outgoing traffic.
• reroute When the link to the ISP comes up, this option makes diald change the system routes to point directly to the PPP connection.
• strict-forwarding Once the connection has gone down, it is not to be revived for packets from the old dynamically-assigned address. This helps to stop unnecessary phone charges with dynamic IP.
• debug If this option is used, diald will send debugging messages to the syslog daemon.

Note that we do not specify IP addresses from the subnet 10.0.0, which is reserved for local use and is never given to nodes on the Internet. This is because Enterprise assign addresses dynamically, and the addresses are changed once the link comes up.