Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!haven!purdue!decwrl!vixie From: vixie@decwrl.dec.com (Paul A Vixie) Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip Subject: Re: Dial-up SLIP? Message-ID: Date: 25 Jan 89 08:57:40 GMT References: <7080012@eecs.nwu.edu> Sender: vixie@decwrl.dec.com Organization: DEC Western Research Lab Lines: 36 In-reply-to: gore@eecs.nwu.edu's message of 24 Jan 89 02:51:57 GMT Ultrix 3.0 (and perhaps earlier, I don't know) supports dial-up SLIP, in a way. If /usr/new/slattach is run without arguments (as a login shell, e.g.) then it tries to look up the name of the user who runs it in the /etc/sliphosts file. If given an argument, it looks up its argument. The /etc/sliphosts file has entries of the general form: destination gateway netmask speed tty modemtype phonenum logininfo "destination" is the key which /usr/new/slattach looks for (see above); there should also be a name or alias in your DNS or /etc/hosts matching this. "gateway" is the name of your end of the SLIP link, and should also be a name or alias in your DNS or /etc/hosts file. "netmask" is obvious, though it's not _generally_ useful for a point-to-point link in my opinion. "speed" is either the baud rate to use (if it's an outgoing entry) or "any" for incoming entries. "tty" is a /dev/ttyXX name, and no, multiple ttys aren't well-supported. "modemtype" and "phonenum" are used in conjunction with the /etc/acucap file which supports generic modem dialing (also used for uucp and tip). "logininfo" is a "chat script" similar to the one used by UUCP in L.sys. The result is that if you can arrange to execute a specific "slattach" command whenever you want to get connected to your SLIP neighbor, then Ultrix 3.0 has "dial-up SLIP". The CSNET implementation is better in this regard since it is able to make the call when you try to send a packet toward your SLIP neighbor. Both the Ultrix and the CSNET dial-up SLIP implementations are proprietary in one way or another: to get the Ultrix one you need an Ultrix machine (a VAX or a DECstation 3100); to get the CSNET one you need to be a CSNET member. A publically redistributable dial-up SLIP is still very much needed. But a publically-redistributable generic modem dialer is also very much needed -- 4.3bsd uucp and tip both still makes you relink binaries to support a new kind of modem. (What decade is this, again?) -- Paul Vixie Work: vixie@decwrl.dec.com decwrl!vixie +1 415 853 6600 Play: paul@vixie.sf.ca.us vixie!paul +1 415 864 7013