Im using RedHat 9.0. I've used PPOE for my adsl connection in Linux. I configured the connection using "adsl-setup". Then I typed "adsl-start" to connect to the internet. After a while it goes to the command prompt without any error messages. I used "ifconfig" and I could see 3 network interfaces namely for localhost, eth0 and ppp0. This means it could get connected to the internet rite? But when I ping to any website in the internet it has no response and I cant browse the internet too.

I can't live without accesing the internet coz most of my reference material are online. Somebody please help me.

Thank you in advance.

Regards,

Selvam

Let's assume for a moment that you are online (which you might not be). There are two things that could have gone wrong. The dns, and the routing.

Both of these should probably be taken care of by a DHCP client daemon. There are several of these, and I don't know which one Red Hat uses. The one I'm familiar with is dhcpcd. ("dhcpcd ppp0 -n" would be the command I would use)

The dns system translates names like "google.com" to IP address such as "216.239.39.99"
try to "ping google.com" and "ping 216.239.39.99". If they don't do the same thing, then you have dns problems. You will need to ask your ISP for the dns servers (It may be in the documentation they could have sent you). You will need to add at least one of these to your /etc/resolv.conf file as "nameserver 12.34.56.78"

If you can't ping IP addresses at all, then you might have a routing problem. Type "route" and see what it gives you. There should be one line that starts either with "default" or "0.0.0.0". The line should end with "ppp0". If that line exists, try to ping the IP address on that line. For example, mine says:

0.0.0.0 172.16.0.1 0.0.0.0 UG 0 0 0 eth0
(this is with "route -n", I have a dsl router as opposed to a dumb modem, hence the eth0 instead of ppp0)
I would (and can) "ping 172.16.0.1". If you have no default gateway, then you can get it from your ISP and type:
"route add default gw 172.16.0.1". This is only temporary. It will last as long as your connection does.

The best way to do these are by dhcp. If dhcp isn't working, then you may need to call your ISP and ask for an IP address and type "ipconfig ppp0 172.16.0.2" (or whatever).
ISP's unusually charge extra for static IP's though, so your best bet would be to figure out the red hat dchp daemon.

Another thought just occurred to me. Most people who think they need to set up a PPOE setup in linux typically don't really need it. Most dsl modems I have seen handle the PPOE on their own. ppp0 exist for those who don't have a modem capable of handling that. If you can http into the modem, then it probably takes care of PPOE for you. If you're given a non-routeable address on eth0 (starts with 192.168.*.*, or 172.16.*.*, or 10.*.*.*) then it's probably already covered.

Looks like the problem is alot more serious now. I checked the /etc/resolv.conf file and the entries in it were as below:
nameserver 202.188.1.5
nameserver 202.188.0.133

But this time when I typed adsl-start at command prompt, nothing happens. It just hangs for while and then ends with an error message as below:
--------------------
/sbin/adsl-start: line 217: 4403 Terminated $CONNECT "$@" >/dev/null 2>&1
-------------------------
I am not sure what is actually wrong. I am facing this problem ever since I reinstalled the RedHat. Before this I used to surf internet using the same version i.e RedHat9.0. But now nothing seem to be happening when it comes to connecting to the internet.

Does anyone know, what is this error message for? and how to solve this problem?