ok, i've got the modem set up and installed, (ttyS4, irq 11), linux recognizes it, and everything seems to be ok, except that when i try to dial, ppp dies. the symptoms:

on wvdial, the modem is accessed and dials, but dies when it tries to start ppp
on kppp, the modem never dials
can't find module ppp0
ppp cannot attach to tty
pppd dies!

ppp support HAS been compiled into the kernel, (2.4.5)and /dev/modem -> /dev/ttyS4... so the two most obvious problems are out of the way.

my understanding was that ppp was only a part of the kernel, and i was wondering if it was also a second program, that i might need to upgrade... and if so, where? that, or, do any other problems leap out at you gurus out there?

well, i'm happy to report that i've solved the first problem.

a simple upgrade from pppd-2.3.11 to pppd-2.4.1 was all that was needed.

i'd make this post longer, but wvdial still has a 180 second idle limit on it, and kppp isn't working yet....

but, those are much simpler problems.