PPP

[jhoder at bu.edu]

hi,

first, i've read a *lot* on the website and this project is extremely well-
documented.  thanks to all for the work.  i know a lot more about serial 
connectivity that i did when i started, however i still have an unresolved ppp 
issue.

QUESTION 1:

it seems that there is a difference between freebsd 4.2 and 4.7 which allows me 
to use ppp.  using ppp on version 4.2 i get the following prompt:

ppp ON >

and can (on some occasions) get a stable connection and ping a remote server 
successfully, use a browser, etc.  with 4.7 ppp however, i see "localhost" in 
the prompt.  and i get no successful pings, and also "no route to host" errors 
when i try to use a browser.

could someone explain the difference, and what i might need to do to 4.7 to 
correct this?

QUESTION 2:

despite trying many different options in ppp.conf, i only get a successful 
authentication with my isp about half the time i connect.  i've tried enabling 
dns since i have dns server addresses in resolv.conf.  sometimes, i think i 
have it fixed, and then, almost randomly, i get a failed authentication (that 
is, instead of seeing the capitol p's i get some weird machine code symbols and 
then lower case p's, and then lose the connection.

any help you can offer would be appreciated.  if you need more info from me, 
let me know.


john