Uptime logging with (maybe) ppp's log functionality

[Mel]

On Monday 15 December 2008 15:09:31 Polytropon wrote:
> Hi!
>
> I'm going to setup a system with a dial-up modem for sporadic
> Internet access; a provider that charges per second online time
> is used. Is there a way ppp (which is used for dialing) can log
> the online time (or at least the connection's start and stop time)
> so the costs can be calculated?
>
> Furthermore, are there already tools that, for example, would use
> the daily, weekly or monthly periodic jobs to inform via mail about
> how much online time was spent? Or, in addition, how much money
> this would mean (built-in calculation)? If it doesn't already exist,
> I'm sure I'll code it. :-)

Radius was created for this (accounting and authentication based on 
accounting) and ppp supports it. Might as well use it ;)

From ppp(8):

     Supports RADIUS (rfc 2138 & 2548) authentication.  An extension to PAP
     and CHAP, Remote Access Dial In User Service allows authentication infor-
     mation to be stored in a central or distributed database along with vari-
     ous per-user framed connection characteristics.  If libradius(3) is
     available at compile time, ppp will use it to make RADIUS requests when
     configured to do so.


-- 
Mel

Problem with today's modular software: they start with the modules
    and never get to the software part.