Notes on Etherppp
-----------------

Few Internet applications understand PPP packets - Minuet, for example,
does not.  Etherppp (PPP.EXE) is a PPP packet driver that emulates Ethernet
for use with applications that don't support PPP (*every* app supports
Ethernet).  Etherppp works best with older modems (14.4k and below); use
Klos PPP or Dospppd for newer, faster ones.

PPP.EXE uses two configuration files (DIAL.PPP and CONFIG.PPP) and several
command-line options.  See the READ.ME file in the Etherppp package to find
out about DIAL.PPP.  See ETHERCMD.TXT in the Etherppp package to find out
about CONFIG.PPP.  Here are some of the command-line options; see READ.ME
for more information:

/b 0x2e8
    Comm port base address for nonstandard setup.  You can use /c instead
    of /b and /i if you have your modem on a standard COM: port.
/c 1
    Use this if the modem is on a standard COM: port.  Values can be 1, 2,
    3, or 4.  If the modem's IRQ or base address are different from a
    standard COM: port, you need to use /b and /i to specify them.
/d script
    Run dialup script DIAL.PPP.	 Note:	this is "/d script" verbatim, not
    "/d <scriptname>" - the name of the script is hard-coded.  If PAP is
    being used for authentication, you can specify a dialing string
    instead, ex. "/d atdt5551212".  Using a dialing string instead of a
    script will only work if the provider connects you right up without
    requesting username, password, protocol, etc.
/f 0
    This option supposedly disables FIFO checking.  It doesn't work any
    more in version 1.9.49 and will cause the command line to be ignored,
    so don't use it.
/h 0
    Don't use hardware flow control (RTS/CTS).	PPP.EXE probably won't work
    if you try this.  Old modems without flow control will work fine
    anyway.
/i 5
    IRQ line for nonstandard setup.  You can use /c instead of /b and /i if
    you have your modem on a standard COM: port.
/k 1
    Specify packet type to use.	 Valid values are 1 (Ethernet) or 15 (PPP).
    Most applications do not support PPP packets, so you should leave this
    one alone (default is Ethernet).
/p 0x60
    Set the packet driver interrupt.  There is no need to use this option
    unless you want to use two packet drivers.	0x60 is the default.
/s 2400
    Set modem speed to 2400 baud.
/u
    The docs say this is for specifying your PAP username and password, but
    in fact it unloads the driver ("ppp /u" is the same as "termin 0x60").
    If you need to specify the PAP username and password, do so in
    CONFIG.PPP.	 PPP.EXE does not appear to support CHAP authentication.
/v
    This sets "verbose mode," displaying the progress of the connection.
    In the last version that I had, it didn't work.  Now it does.

According to S. Shrividya <shrivi@monmouth.com>, the order in which you
specify command-line options is significant - some options may be
disregarded if the order is wrong:

   What I found best was this order:
       
       ppp /c /v /s 19200 /d script /q 1 

   When I changed the order and put /s 19200 in the end, it would not accept
   it and would always dial with the default speed(9600). I did not realize
   this till I had to connect to a modem which accepted ONLY high speed
   connections. Everything failed and I spent a lot of time trying to get
   this to work.

If you got Etherppp from ftp.agate.net:/users/01935/internet some time ago,
it may have been version 1.9.37.  This is the newest one, v1.9.49.  1.9.37
is still out there on the 'net if you want it (try archie - filename
etherppp.zip), and it is much easier to find than this version. 
Unfortunately, it seems that the documentation doesn't change when the
program does, so the command-line parameters don't all work as advertised. 
An invalid command line doesn't always get you a syntax message; PPP.EXE
often responds to invalid command-line syntax by ignoring all the
parameters (even the valid ones).  When you do get a syntax message, take it
with a grain of salt - it hasn't been updated either.

The "ppp trace" command in CONFIG.PPP does not seem to do anything.  Using
"/d script" on the command line, the script executed will be DIAL.PPP in
the directory where PPP.EXE was installed (under DOS 3.0 or later) or in
the current directory (earlier DOSes).	CONFIG.PPP will automatically be
executed if it exists and will be in the same place.  In other words,
DIAL.PPP and CONFIG.PPP need to be in the same directory with PPP.EXE, you
can't change their names, and under DOS 2.x you need to change to the
directory where PPP.EXE was installed to run it.

PPP.EXE takes 126624 bytes of conventional RAM when loaded.  If you have too
many TSR's and device drivers in your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT, you might
not have enough RAM left to run Internet applications, so get rid of stuff
you can do without (I just have a mouse driver and an EMS driver loaded on
my Tandy 1000TL).  PPP.EXE can be loaded high with DOS 5.0 or later, if you
have a 386, or an older machine with an LIM 4.x EMS card.  It is recommended
that you load it high if you can, since it actually performs better (i.e.,
fewer lockups).

Obviously you don't want to type all those command-line options each time.
The solution to this is to create a batch file PPPOPEN.BAT that will open
the PPP connection.  Here is the PPPOPEN.BAT I use to connect to Agate with
a 2400-baud modem on COM4:, IRQ 5.  For DOS 2.x you would need to add a
line to change to the directory where you installed Etherppp:

    e:\internet\ethernew\ppp /i 5 /b 0x2e8 /s 2400 /d script /v

Here is an example DIAL.PPP script.  The timings are conservative; shorter
waits on the "recv" commands are probably acceptable.  This depends on your
provider's login sequence, of course:

------- DIAL.PPP script example begins ----------
send "atz\r"
recv 10000 "OK"
recv 1000
send "atdt990-0714\r"
recv 60000 "CONNECT"
recv 10000
send "\r"
recv 30000 "ogin:"
recv 1000
send "username\r"
recv 30000 "ssword:"
recv 1000
send "password\r"
recv 30000 "beginning...."
------- DIAL.PPP script example ends ------------

The modem needs to be set up to hang up the modem when DTR is dropped
(&D2).	If it uses data compression or error correction, they should be
enabled.  If it provides hardware flow control, enable that.  DCD should
follow the true state (&C1).

PPP.EXE will not load if it cannot set up a connection.

In version 1.9.49, it is now possible to break the PPP connection without
rebooting (1.9.37 required a hard reset).  The first way is to enter "ppp
/u" at the DOS prompt (this is an undocumented option, BTW).  The other way
is to enter "termin 0x60".  These two do the same thing:  break the PPP
connection, hang up the phone, and unload the packet driver.  If you use
TERMIN.COM, you should probably use the version in the Etherppp package and
not the one in the Umslip package.  If you forget to close the connection
when you're done, you'll be unpleasantly surprised by your service
provider's bill :-).  Here is the PPPCLOSE.BAT I use to end a session:

    e:\internet\ethernew\ppp /u

Consult ETHERCMD.TXT for information on writing a CONFIG.PPP script; I can't
say that I entirely understand it myself.  Here is a script used to work for
me (before I changed providers):

------- CONFIG.PPP script example begins --------
ppp trace 0
gateway 199.191.1.70
nameserver 199.191.1.80
ppp ipcp local compress tcp 16 1
ppp ipcp local address 127.0.0.1
ppp ipcp open
ppp lcp local accm 0
ppp lcp local acfc on
ppp lcp local pfc on
ppp lcp local magic on
ppp lcp open
------- CONFIG.PPP script example ends ----------

You can also try the built-in CONFIG.PPP.  If it's no-go with that, here is
a recommended generic CONFIG.PPP script, according to the PPP FAQ.  In
addition to what was in the FAQ, you also need to have "gateway" and
"nameserver" lines, which I've added below.  Change them to correspond to
your gateway and nameserver.  Note: If you have dynamic IP and get a
different gateway each time, just put in the gateway you *usually* get; it
will probably still work:

------- generic CONFIG.PPP script begins ----------
gateway 127.0.0.2
nameserver 127.0.0.3
ppp ipcp local compress allow
ppp ipcp open
ppp lcp local accm 0
ppp lcp local acfc on
ppp lcp local pfc on
ppp lcp local magic allow
ppp lcp open
------- generic CONFIG.PPP script ends ------------

The two programs INST.EXE and PKTSTAT.COM display information about the
link (after you're connected, of course), such as the number of packets
sent and received and the number dropped.