While PPP is used for Internet access you also need a dialer program (or script) that will work with PPP. Such a dialer program will dial a phone number. When the other side answers the phone then three things happen: a modem connection is established (CONNECT), PPP is started at both ends, and you get logged in automatically. The exact sequence of the last 2 events may vary. Dialer programs for ppp include wvdial, chap scripts, kppp, RP3, Linuxconf, and gnome-ppp.
There are also other dialer programs which can dial out directly (thru
a modem) to local libraries, etc. This isn't the Internet.
minicom
is the most popular followed by Seyon
(X-Windows
only) and Kermit
. People have likely also used these programs
for dialing out with ppp for the Internet but it's not what they were
originally designed for.
Minicom is only a communications program while Kermit is both a communications program and a file transfer protocol. But one may use the Kermit protocol from within Minicom (provided one has Kermit installed on one's PC). Minicom is menu based while Kermit is command line based (interactive at the special Kermit prompt). While the Kermit program is free software, the documentation is not all free. There is no detailed manual supplied and it is suggested that you purchase a book as the manual. However Kermit has interactive online help which tells all but lacks tutorial explanations for the beginner. Commands may be put in a script file so you don't have to type them over again each time. Kermit (as a communications program) is more powerful than Minicom.
Although all Minicom documentation is free, it's not as extensive as Kermit's. Since permission is required to include Kermit in a commercial distribution, and since the documentation is not entirely free, some distributions don't include Kermit. In my opinion it's easier to set up Minicom, there is less to learn, and you can still use kermit from within Minicom.
Here is a list of some communication software you can choose from, If they didn't come with your distribution they should be available via FTP. I would like comparative comments on the dialout programs. Are the least popular ones obsolete?
ecu
- a communications programpcomm
- procomm
-like communications program with zmodemxc
- xcomm communication package
wvdial
, eznet
,
chat
, pon
(uses chat),minicom
- telix
-like communications program. Can work
with scripts, zmodem, kermitseyon
- X based communication program
By using a fax program, you may use most modems to send faxes. In this case you dial out directly and not via ppp and an ISP. You also pay any long-distance telephone charges. email is more efficient.
efax
a small fax programhylafax
a large fax program based on the client-server
model.mgetty+fax
handles fax stuff and login for dial-ins
mgetty+fax
is for modems and is well documented (except for
voicemail as of early 1999). It also handles fax stuff and provides
an alternative to uugetty
. It's incorporating voicemail (using
vgetty) features. See
About mgetty
uugetty
is also for modems. It comes as a part of the
ps_getty
package. See
About getty_ps
callback
is where you dial out to a remote modem and then
that modem hangs up and calls you back (to save on phone bills).
SLiRP
and term
provide a PPP-like service that you can
run in user space on a remote computer with a shell account.
See
term and SLiRP for more details
ZyXEL
is a control program for ZyXEL U-1496 modems. It
handles dialin, dialout, dial back security, FAXing, and voice
mailbox functions.
ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/network/serial/
.
ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/serial
and
ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/apps/serialcomm
or one of the
many mirrors. These are the directories where serial programs are kept.
SLiRP
and term
are programs which are of use if you only
have a dial-up shell account on a Unix-like machine and want to get
the equivalent of a PPP account (or the like) without being authorized
to have it (possibly because you don't want to pay extra for it, etc.).
SLiRP
is more popular than term
which is almost obsolete.
To use SLiRP
you install it in your shell account on the remote
computer. Then you dial up the account and run SLiRP on the remote
and PPP on your local PC. You now have a PPP connection over which
you may run a web browser on your local PC such as Netscape, etc.
There may be some problems as SLiRP is not as good as a real PPP
account. Some accounts may provide SLiRP since it saves on IP
addresses (You have no IP address while using SLiRP).
term
is something like SLiRP only you need to run term
on
both the local and remote computer. There is no PPP on the phone line
since term
uses its own protocol. To use term
from your PC
you need to use a term-aware version of ftp to do ftp, etc. Thus it's
easier to use SLiRP since the ordinary version of ftp works fine with
SLiRP. There is an unmaintained Term HOWTO.
If you want someone who uses MS Windows to dial in to your Linux PC then if they use:
Terminal
HyperTerminal
Third party dial-out programs include HyperTerminal Private Edition.