Darin: Excalibur here. Do I understand then that if rp-pppoe is successfull in authenticating, it will show up as a ppp0 device on the ifconfig listing? And not as an eth0 device. And this would also be reflected in the routing table as interface ppp0?

It would make sense because rp-pppoe is based on the pppd daemon. Since my attempt to use it failed, I never got it that far to see how it would display.

Thanks in advance.

Well,

I manually set the ip, and I could actually ping the ISP's DHCP server, even though rp-pppoe said the link was still down. I still can't make it connect, and I feel so completely defeated that I think I'm going to give slackware the hatch.

Thanks for your help,
Andrew

That's great. It confirms that it is just a problem with rp-pppoe config.

You will need to remove the existing IP assignment you made before trying again. I think if it is set to anything, it will prevent pppd from using the adapter.

Have you made sure that the /etc/ppp/options file is empty?

Did you add your login info into the chaps-secret file?

In case you are running a custom kernel, you might want to review doc/KERNEL-MODE-PPPOE. Some kernel options might be required to even enable the pppd daemon.

Watch your /var/log/syslog, debug, messages files for any info regarding problems. The file /etc/ppp/connect-errors might be used since the rp-pppoe uses the pppd daemon. So it might be worth reviewing.

Who is the DSL provider?

the providor is verizon

everything is configured correctly (almost certain)

i will do a connect, and then check syslog and report back.

Thanks for all the help!!!!

I haven't been able to locate anything specific for Verizon DSL. I had Verizon DSL (but not Verizon Internet) prior to my current COVAD DSL for both, but it was a prior GTE system and it didn't use PPPoE with my ISP, static IP and static routes.

I would not think the GUI and nonGUI programs would differ, but you might want to try both. On my attempt, I was not able to use the GUI so I am unable to determine if differences.

The was a little info that seemed to imply that some 10/100 NIC's need to be set for 10 Mbps half duplex mode to communicate properly with the bridge device. This might be verifiable from Windows. However, you stated that you could ping an outside IP address if you manually configured an IP for the NIC. So this has very little chance of being the problem.

The Roaring Penguin web page offered some considerations though;

1)For Slack; only install from the source file, not rpm.
2)If two computers available, try sniffing the packets from the unit that works.
3)Attempt to use "DEBUG=1 adsl-start". Evidently creates huge output but might provide additional info where it is failing.

Now, I know this isn't what you really want to consider. But you might have an extra hard disk or computer laying around. Use another hard disk (or computer) and install the Redhat that you know works. Verify that it is rp-pppoe installed. Copy all the config files from the /etc/ppp directory to a floppy disk. So you can use them again. You may want to verify rp and pppd versions as well for the config files that you have. Of course Redhat could of modified the locations to other than /etc/ppp. But you could review what configs you have now and be able to verify that you have everything. If you do attempt this, then you might want to run the debug option above as well to capture the output for comparison as well.

Most DSL providers I have talked with will not or are unable to provide any technical information on their DSL service. Providers that use bridge devices would not even discuss Linux. Even with my current provider, COVAD using their supplied router, they only know the html interface available through a local browser. When I stated I was using a menu through telnet, they didn't even know it could be done. They did know that the router had a serial port, but didn't know how to use it. Both options use the same config menu. But because the service used a router, they didn't care what OS I was running on my stations as long as the router could login.

This thread has a tremendous view count, so I know there are many that are watching / reviewing it. Current view count is 246. Perhaps someone else can help more or provide more insight since they know the DSL provider is Verizon. I would expect that Verizon would be a popular service.

If all else fails and to help elliminate these problems in the future as well. You might want to consider purchasing a small LinkSys Cable/DSL router or something similar. It should connect to your bridge and provide the PPPoE login and a number of other features as well. Plus allow multiple connections concurrently. I brought up a Verizon DSL/Internet service last summer in Virginia that Verizon supplied a bridge and a LinkSys cable router.

Wish I could of been more assistance. I would be very interested in your results though. DSL is becoming more and more available in my area, including Verizon.

OK~

I checked the error output and I get an error from pppd every time I try to connect. The errors are more like informational things> they just say that it tries to connect and then disconnects. I'm starting to get really really frustrated with this!

The only helpful thing i got from the massive debug file it created was to make sure I have my NIC in 10 mb/s mode. How can I make sure it is???

Thanks a bunch,
Andrew

Some cards come with a setup / driver disk. If you have such a disk, then boot a DOS diskette and review the directories. It would normally be just something like setup.exe. It might in the root of the disk or in directory called setup or something. I have seen some that just call the directory DOS. But the program would set it to allow the NIC to default to 10 mbs half duplex mode. Many of the cards today are not providing all these extras anymore. As longs as it works in MS that is all they care about. However, the driver can still over ride the setting.

Not sure this is the problem because it was communicating when you setup a manual IP address and could ping one of their servers. It was also working under Redhat without anything special here. At least in theory it should auto negotiate the connection with the other end on power up. In this case it is a bridge device. ( 100 full, 100 half, 10 full, then 10 half)

From your description of the output, it is not locating a responding server to attempt authentication. Sounds like incorrect or missing information is being sent and their server is ignoring the request. If it was a NIC driver issue I would expect a device not found or something similar.

Frustrating I am sure. Your patience has far exceeded my attempt. However, I did have other options and I didn't think PPPoE was a real solution for me on a hosting server. I also had time constraints swicthing DSL Providers to consider.

Well, hasn't been of much help I know. I did a search here on LQ using "Verizon" and it pulled about two pages worth of links. I read many of them and most, if not all, appear to get rp-pppoe working OK with Verizon. The vast majority of the posts were of different Redhat flavors though. Which is what you had working. But I didn't pick up on anything that would be distro specific though. Check the /etc/pap-secrets file and the chap-secrets file and make sure they have the correct username and pasword. If you are running a custom kernel then you may want to switch back to a stock kernel, just in case some ppp options might be missing in the custom kernel.

Good luck.

Now I'm scared. I just yesterday replaced my Red Hat 7.3 with Slack 8.1, and tonight I was going to get my DSL working. I also use Verizon. If I had known I had this fun to look forward to, I would have paid more attention to the settings when I had Red Hat on...I'll post my adventures/questions tomorrow, maybe that'll help. Wish me luck.

I was absolutely astounded to find that my install went without a hitch. I downloaded the roaring penguin stuff, installed, ran adsl-setup, answered the questions as generically as I could, and adsl-start worked right out of the box. Easier than RH, mainly because I'm using a console now and didn't have to fight my way through a GUI.

Yea, I use Verizon too and mines worked right out of the box too....

Well, it has been a long, long times since I had to deal with Verizon, but here I am again. I ended up scraping Slack 8.1 out of pure frustration and going back to 'the hat'.

My connection ended up working with that, but weirdly enough, I had to use the 'eth0' connection, NOT the ppp0. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that mean that my isp is somehow not using pppoe?

The only reason I'm asking is that I'm giving slackware another go, and before I resort to buying a router, I'd like to see if I can understand this problem enough to fix it without one.

Thanks for your help,
Andrew

Then you need to determine how the Redhat system is using the NIC eth0 for the DSL config. If not static IP that you would know if you were assigned the IP address and setup. Then most likely it is DHCP. See if a process is run that might be called "dhcpcd". There was also another program that does the same thing but I can't remember the name right. But I would think the system log would also have some info. But it does sound like it may not be using PPPoE with the pppd daemon.

Shame shame shame on me....

I did 'netconfig' and added 'USE_DHCP=yes' to /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 and I was online in less than 2 minutes.

Why does it always have to be something so simple???

If your service uses DHCP then it usually would not have a username/password assigned. What were you using for PPPoE username/password?

Excalibur:

My ISP sent me a 'username' and 'password' to 'login' with, but apparently this was just a trick so that users would feel more like it was dialup, and so unix users would be wholly confused. Also, Verizon in my area shares a lot of things with Earthlink, and because I had pppoe with Earthlink before, I assumed that since they gave me a username and password, Verizon must be pppoe too.

~Andrew