How to use Arachne with PPP or SLIP


The easiest way to use Arachne with PPP connection is to configure Arachne using Arachne PPP Wizard.
Arachne uses DOS packet driver interface to enable TCP/IP connectivity. This technology is not very simple to understand, but it's the only standard DOS offers just know. The packet driver is resident program (TSR), similar to utilities like mouse driver or VESA driver. TCP/IP applications access packet driver using software interrupt - usually it is 0x60 (60H). The packet driver for ethernet card (LAN) is small freeware program (named like ODIPKT.COM, or so). If you are using dial-up connection, you need TSR program to "emulate" ehternet card packet driver.

There are following known ways to connect to Internet via serial line (modem) from DOS:


DOSPPPD

DOSPPPD is a single program - EPPPD.EXE. Arachne offers loading DOSPPPD if
ARACHNE.CFG file contains line Connection @EPPPD.EXE.

DOSPPPD is port of Unix PPP daemon to DOS enviroment. It's probably the best PPP solution available in DOS. It consumes less memory than EtherPPP or KlosPPP. Author of DOS port, Toni Lopez, permitted me to include this dialer to Arachne package.

If you don't want to use Arachne built-in configurator, you can study DOSPPPD documentation, which was created by merging files README.TXT and PPPD.MAN from DOSPPPD package. You don't have to care about connection, because Arachne uses it's own dialer - MINITERM.EXE, configured in ARACHNE.CFG. IP address is passed by option IP_Address PPP.

If you are not advanced DOS user, I suggest using Arachne PPP wizard mentioned on the top of screen. More details (eg. automatic login script) can be entered using manual PPP setup screen. Just fill in the correct values, click Ok, save and than restart Arachne. Arachne will create configuration file PPPDRC.CFG for DOSPPPD automaticaly.

If you prefere to setup text-mode configuration files rather than using setup screen, than yo should check list of all keywords used in ARACHNE.CFG configuration file.


EtherPPP

EtherPPP is a single program - PPP.EXE. Arachne will load EtherPPP if
ARACHNE.CFG file contains line Connection @PPP.EXE parameters>PPP.LOG.

You have to study EtherPPP documentation and manually create file CONFIG.PPP, needed by EtherPPP. You don't have to care about DIAL.PPP, as you can use MINITERM dialer, shiped with Arachne.


Klos PPP

Klos PPP is shareware PPP dialer, distributed by Klos technologies.

You must get uncrippled self-extracting archive pppshare.exe, available at http://www.klos.com. The license agreement doesn't allow us to include this archive directly to Arachne package. Place the pppshare.exe to Arachne directory and execute it.

Klos PPP consists of more than one driver file - I suggest you to read documentation and add these drivers to your AUTOEXEC.BAT. Klos PPP drivers can be loaded to high memory area.

Klos PPP offers program PPPMENU.EXE as interface to PPP dialer. After connecting with PPPMENU.EXE, you must select "Exit PPP connect" menu option to DOS (or to to Arachne). There is also one more executable you must run to update WATTCP.CFG. After doing that, your ARACHNE.CFG can look like:

Connection READY
IP_Address WATTCP
TCP_Config WATTCP.CFG

Probably the easiest wayt to use Klos PPP is to configure it as resident packet driver (and run PPPMENU manualy from command line).


UMSLIP, SLIPPER.EXE, CSLIPPER.EXE:

SLIP is historical dial-up protocol, which was replaced by PPP.

You can call any of these packet drivers as external dialer or you can establish connection and make them resident first and then use Arachne exactly the same way as on Local Network. Freeware SLIP programs can be found on many anonymous FTP sites. CSLIPPER.EXE is included in Arachne distribution package.

I have recieved e-mail, that UMSLIP correctly emulates BOOTP.


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