7.2. WvDial - A command-line pppd driver

The WvDial homepage is here

WvDial is a command-line pppd driver. It has two main components, wvdialconf and wvdial. Both must be run as root.

First you must run wvdialconf. wvdialconf is generates a configuration file containing information on your modem and ISP information. Running wvdialconf will probe your comm ports, looking for a modem, and determine the capabilities of any modems it finds.

wvdialconf is invoked with the name of your wvdial configuration file- which is always /etc/wvdial.conf. Here's what the output should look like.

[root at blah /root]# wvdialconf newconffile
Scanning your serial ports for a modem.

ttyS1<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 -- OK
ttyS1<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 Z -- OK
ttyS1<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 -- OK
ttyS1<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 -- OK
ttyS1<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 -- OK
ttyS1<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 S11=55 -- OK
ttyS1<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 S11=55 +FCLASS=0 -- OK
ttyS1<*1>: Modem Identifier: ATI -- 28800
ttyS1<*1>: Speed 2400: AT -- OK
ttyS1<*1>: Speed 4800: AT -- OK
ttyS1<*1>: Speed 9600: AT -- OK
ttyS1<*1>: Speed 19200: AT -- OK
ttyS1<*1>: Speed 38400: AT -- OK
ttyS1<*1>: Speed 57600: AT -- OK
ttyS1<*1>: Speed 115200: AT -- OK
ttyS1<*1>: Max speed is 115200; that should be safe.
ttyS1<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 S11=55 +FCLASS=0 -- OK
ttyS0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 -- ATQ0 V1 E1 -- ATQ0 V1 E1 -- nothing.
Port Scan<*1>: S2   S3   

Found a modem on /dev/ttyS1.

If your output looks different, check that your modem is plugged in, turned on, and connected to a com port.

Once you have run wvdialconf, you need to edit the /etc/wvdial.conf file to reflect the phone number to dial, and your username and password. Open up /etc/wvdial.conf in your favorite text editor. It should look something like this:

[Dialer Defaults]
Modem = /dev/ttyS1
Baud = 115200
Init1 = ATZ
Init2 = ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 S11=55 +FCLASS=0
; Phone = 555-1212
; Username = my_login_name
; Password = my_login_password

Remove the ';' and fill in the appropriate fields- phone number, login name and password. Now you should be all set to run wvdial.

Run wvdial. Assuming that you filled in your phone number, username, and password correctly, wvdial will now dial your ISP. wvdial will not exit until the connection is terminated- you can do a Ctrl-C to terminate it.

wvdial is fairly new and untested software, so if you run into any problems along the way, you should contact the authors. You can find their contact info on the homepage listed above.