NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #20/NN_1992_20.iso/spool/comp/protocol/ppp/760

Internet Message Format | 1992-09-10 | 1.6 KB

Path: sparky!uunet!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!usc!randvax!edhall
From: [e-mail] (Ed Hall)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.ppp
Subject: Re: PPP implemenation that executes in user space?
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 10 Sep 92 21:33:42 GMT
References: <[e-mail]>
Sender: [e-mail]
Organization: RAND Corporation.
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Nntp-Posting-Host: ives.rand.org

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Chris Crowell) writes:
>All of the PPP implementations I have seen for Sun have executed in
>kernel space.  Are there implementations that execute in user space ? Can PPP
>operate in user space ?

The KA9Q NOS software can be coaxed to run on a Sun.  There are UNIX
porting kits around for older versions (which don't support PPP); it
is a modest amount of work to adapt these to work with newer versions
of NOS (which do support PPP).  I did this for System V R3.2.

This sort of setup is fine for outbound telnet and for FTP.  It is a
self-contained program which does its own multi-processing, though, so
don't expect it to interface with other network software.  To do that,
you need to either put PPP in the kernel, or use a "tunnel driver" like
MorningStar does with their PPP (a pseudo-device driver which allows a
user process to pump IP packets into and out of the kernel).

MorningStar's latest version of the tunnel driver for the Sun is
dynamically installable, and the PPP software which runs with it is
highly configurable and robust.  It's a commercial product, but it is
worth the bucks if you are going to be using PPP on a regular basis.

        -Ed Hall
        [e-mail]