can't connect to internet with Bellsouth DSL
 

I'm new to Linux, and I really need some help. I'm dualbooting (using GRUB) "hda" has Windows XP, "hdb" has Fedora Core 1. I connect to the internet using Bellsouth DSL (I connect to the 2Wire modem through USB). My problem is this: I can get on the internet just fine with Windows XP, but I can't get Linux to connect. If it helps at all, I have a dynamic IP (that changes each time I start), but I have a default gateway, subnet mask, and an IP (the one that I see when I go into the command prompt in Windows and type "ipconfig")

IP= 172.16.1.34
Subnet Mask= 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway= 172.16.0.1

When I go to 2Wire's home page and look at the information about my computer, I see the above information, but I can also get more information, which shows me the IP that changes each time I connect. Please help me get Linux to connect to the internet.

I use bellsouth dsl also,only difference is I use a ethernet card,intel onboard,and have no problems at all,I do know to use DHCP,the USB may give you some problems,what dist.are you using,david

Going by my own experiences and those of others on the boards, ethernet is a lot less problematic and easier to set up.

Also, I seem to remember being told (around a year ago) that ethernet also gives better speeds than usb because with ethernet all the work is done by the card and modem, whereas with usb, the pc/processor is doing most of the work.

Also, ethernet is more expandable - if you need to give another machine net access, it's a simple matter of adding a 4port hub (or whatever number) to the mix.

Hope this helps.

That's helpful, but it's not an option that's open to me :(
The only way I can connect to the internet is through the USB. The modem is in a room across the house, and my mother's computer connects to our modem with it's only ethernet port. The only way I can connect is by connecting from my USB into our house's structured wiring, the modem also connects to the structured wiring, which provides the only link between my computer and modem. If there's no way to get Linux to connect with my current setup, please tell me... But this is my only option. Thanks for the help!

You need to set up your network/modem to get the ip from dhcp. You will need to find out what the name of your modem's module is. Then have that module installed by adding it to your /etc/modutils/aliases file. I'm not sure how you would write it out because I only know how to write it for ethernet cards. You will need to do some googling to find out what module you need to run for your modem in Linux and also how you should install it.

I figured it out.

First you can set your external interface (eth0 or eth1, whatever) to be dhcp, just to get to the modem. It will give you a DHCP IP that is a local one (non-routable) 172.16/12 or 192.168/16.

You'll be able to access internet and all, but you still have a non-routable IP number.

Anyway, your network card will be configured as DHCP. If DHCP doesn't work for you, you can set up the route manually:
ifconfig eth0 up 192.168.1.77
route add -host 192.168.1.254

The latter is the address of the modem, the former is made up from the range of DHCP of the modem when it acts as a DHCP server. For your 172.16/12 network they would be similar -- figure them out. This setup worked for me.

Then you need to go to http://192.168.1.254/ and play with the ADVANCED settings of the modem. In the Configure->Connection set it to Bridged, and in Configure->DHCP turn it off -- you'll have reset the modem after each step -- it will ask you, just say yes.

This will make you modem be true DSL modem (just a modem).

Then you're ready to set up PPP. Assuming that you already have it installed on your machine this is how my /etc/sysconfig/network-scrips/ifcfg-ppp0 looks like:

USERCTL=yes
ONBOOT=yes
BOOTPROTO=dialup
NAME=DSLppp0
DEVICE=ppp0
TYPE=xDSL
PIDFILE=/var/run/pppoe-adsl.pid
#LINUX_PLUGIN=/etc/ppp/plugins/rp-pppoe.so
FIREWALL=NONE
PING=.
PPPOE_TIMEOUT=320
LCP_FAILURE=3
LCP_INTERVAL=80
CLAMPMSS=1412
CONNECT_POLL=6
CONNECT_TIMEOUT=60
DEFROUTE=yes
SYNCHRONOUS=no
ETH=eth1
PROVIDER=DSLppp0
USER=<your user id>@bellsouth.net
PEERDNS=yes

And my ifcfg-eth1 looks like this:

DEVICE=eth1
BOOTPROTO=
ONBOOT=yes
USERCTL=no


Then edit your /etc/ppp/pap-secrets and /etc/ppp/chap-secrets file
to have the proper userid@bellsouth.net and your password.

After all this you can restart the network:
/etc/init.d/network restart

After some wait, your ppp should start and you should be on the network.

Let me know if you have any questions.

About your question regarding connectivity -- you can set up a Linux host be multihomed, i.e. having 2 or more network cards belonging to different nets.

Then you can configure one of those network cards be the external one -- the one connecting to your DSL modem, and the other is the internal one.

You'll have to set up IP forwarding and all, through the iptables package. It's really not that hard.

Then the internal network interface you can connect to a switch or a hub and connect as many computers there as you want; you'll also have to configure and run dhcpd, so that those internal computers get a DHCP FROM YOU, when they connect, this has nothing to do with the external world -- your IP provider will NEVER KNOW that you have an internal network at home -- to them it all looks like traffic to/from one machine one IP, one network card.

Before you do that though, I suggest you get your DSL modem working right.

I.e. my beef was that I was only getting a "private net" IP address, 192.168/16, in my case, and I don't want that! I want an externally visible IP assigned to my external network card.
My above message describes how to do that.

Else you can always set up your network card BOOTPROTO=dhcp and it'll work for you but you'll get a private net IP.

Uuuuh, anyway, ask questions if the above doesn't make sense -- it's way too late and I'm dying for some sleep.

Okay, I've been trying some stuff, but still I'm without internet in Linux. Everything seems to trace back to one single problem: I don't have a device driver for 2wire in linux, and I don't know where to find one. Also, here's how my connection works:

I have my computer. connected to it is 2wire's USB-to-phone line converter. I have a normal telephone cable, one end connected to 2wire's converter, the other connected to my wall (the structured wiring of my house).

If anyone can tell me how to set this connection up, or knows where to find a Linux driver for 2wire, I will be very thankful.

(Linux automatically configures th 2wire connection in the hardware manager during startup, but I still can't connect to the internet.)

Thanks for all the help!

~Malren AKA. :newbie:

Nebul, did your setup work for a NIC or USB?