Linux Magazine: Modem Mastery

"You have mastered the intricacies of the X Window System, your sound card is finally working, Linux is installed successfully, and everything seems fine -- everything except that one final, nagging question: How do you get that darned modem to work?"

"When connecting to your ISP, your Linux box will need to use the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) software in order to transmit the Internet's TCP/ IP protocol over your modem. PPP is part of most Linux distributions, and a number of graphical programs, including Kppp... will get it up and running on your computer. Once your modem is plugged into your computer, you can launch Kppp and use its setup options to completely configure your modem."

"When you set off to buy a modem, it's best to go to your computer store armed with a Linux modem compatibility list. That way you can be sure to buy a modem that is proven to work with Linux. You can find this list at http//www.o2.net/~gromitkc/winmodem.html. As a rule of thumb, if the modem says "HCF," "HSP," "Winmodem," or "soft modem" on the box, it probably won't work. If the modem is "controller based," then it will almost certainly work with Linux."

Complete Story

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