[AuckLUG] Re: Dialup problem with dialup to Xtra - solved

[John O'Gorman]

Hi everyone

The solution to the above problem was to set StupidMode='yes'

We hit upon this solution by comparing 2 similar machines where the ihug
connection still worked while the Xtra connection failed.
We found that using the ihug connection and changing Id, phone number,
and password, everything worked OK when connecting to Xtra.

On SuSE Linux, this is all configured by Yast(2). 
On the 2 laptaps I found that yast reads from provider configurations
stored in /opt/kde/share/apps/kppp/Providers.
When you select a Provider from Yast's modem setup dialogue, it uses the
files in the Providers directory to set the properties for the chat
scripts. After you have filled in the fields and marched through the
tabbed dialogues it finally writes to /etc/sysconfig/networks/Providers.
By diffing these files, we were able to spot the key difference: 
StupidMode='yes' v StupidMode='no'

Apparently Xtra have changed something which requires this to be
switched. 

When I reported this to my friend in Whakatane, he said that his 1st
attempts at connection in a motel had failed with a BUSY response
(despite the fact that he was getting a seemingly normal ring tone when
he used the telephone), but a later attempt at a private home in
Whakatane worked OK, and he had not changed his laptop configuration.

All this suggests to me that either Telecom or Xtra are fiddling with
things and not telling anybody, even their own people.

Anyway, if you are using modems to dial up on Linux systems, be aware
that configurations which used to work 'out of the box' in the past with
Xtra may not work now, and that changing StupidMode may be the fix.

regards
John O'Gorman