IPCOP Dialup Tutorial

Configuration of the Modem/Router

  1. Write down the MAC address of the modems internet interface. (Not the internal interface)
  2. Hard reset modem/router to factory defaults. (Most modem/routers have a reset button on the back. Be sure to follow the manufacturers instructions regarding reset because each one is different.)
  3. DO NOT enter any authentication data into the modem such as username, password, etc. (The authentication will be handled by IPCOP and, therefore, the authentication data will be entered in the IPCOP web interface.
  4. Configure the modem/router for the bridged, or transparent, mode.
  5. Disable DHCP and NAT within the modem/router configuration.
  6. Call your ISP to discover if any changes need to the MTU/VCI/VPI settings within the modem to conform to their system. If so, change the default configuration for those particular settings.

Configuration of IPCOP

  1. While logged onto the IPCOP console as ’root’, enter ’setup’ at the command prompt.
  2. Select ’Networking’ from the ’Section menu’.
  3. Select ’Address settings’ from the ’Network configuration menu’.
  4. Select ’Red’ from the ’Address settings’ menu.
  5. Select ’PPPoE’ from the ’Red interface’ menu. (This is the proper setting for BOTH PPPoA and PPPoE).
  6. Select ’Ok’, ’Done’, ’Done’ and ’Quit’, consecutively to save the new settings and navigate out of the setup routine.
  7. From a client on the Green subnet, open the web browser and connect to the IPCOP web interface pursuant to the instructions in the IPCOP setup documentation. Cool On the web interface, select the ’Dialup’ option of the ’Network’ tab.
  8. Select ’PPPoE’ from the drop down options within the ’Interface’ window.
  9. Select ’Connect upon restart’
  10. Select ’Persistent’ if you wish to maintain a constant connection to the internet.
  11. Input the authenticating username and password for your ISP in the ’Username’ and ’Password’ windows of the ’Authentication’ section.
  12. Enter the proper selection for your ISP within the ’Method’ window. (Usually ’PAP or CHAP’ works for most ISP’s)

Final Crucial Issue

If you have never had any routing device connected to your ISP before, the above configurations should provide you with an internet connection. However, if you have previously authenticated with the ISP either with the modem/router, another router, another firewall, your client PC or any other network interface, then you will probably need to perform one of the two following steps (Do not downplay the importance of this step. Many people miss this point and are unable to connect to their ISP because they did not heed this warning.):

  1. Shut down the modem/router and IPCOP for as much as four to eight hours. This is necessary for many ISPs because their authentication links to the MAC address of the last interface connected. It can take hours for the upstream hardware to ’forget: the old MAC address’ so that it can accept the new MAC address of the IPCOP red interface.
  2. You can ’spoof’ the old interface MAC address on the IPCOP red interface. (Change the MAC address of the IPCOP red NIC to the MAC address of the old interface.)
howto/dialup.txt · Last modified: 2008/09/24 00:01 by ds531