I'm pretty sure all this can be configured in YaST (the SuSE "Control Panel" equivalent).
From the main YaST screen:
- In the navigation bar on the left, click "Network Devices"
- In the main window, click on "Modem"
SuSE will then attempt to detect your modem. Once it detects it, you'll have the option of configuring a connection to your ISP. When you are configuring your ISP, you can set a value in seconds that defines how long the connection is idle before disconnecting. There is also a dial-on-demand, option - I believe that this, if set, will dial up to your ISP if data is requested from the net.
Have a look on the suse website (
http://www.suse.com - I think) for more info.
I hope this helps turn you from the dark side!
Pete