Topic: Dial-up Servergateway not dialing

[Tony Howden]

Hi All,

I've been on this for most of the day and cannot figure this out.

A new install of SME 5.1 on a new box with a new internal modem and an older external modem. I am trying with either modem to get a connection for a dial-up server gateway.

The settings in SME I have tried are for ttyS0 - the external on COM1 and ttyS3 the internal on COM4. The ttyS0 is standard serial while the ttyS3 I have modified via rc.local to use setserial /dev/ttyS3 uart 16550A port 0x9400 irq 10 for a Lucent modem. I have also installed the lucent driver from http://www.heby.de/ltmodem/ltmodem-kv_2.2.19_7.0.8-6.00a1-1.i386.rpm  which from what I can see should match the SME server kernel but it gave me a couple of warning messages on the rpm install and I think its not working possibly due to the SME-Server excluding some tool(s). Using the ttyS3 setting in SME Server and starting Minicom hangs minicom as if it cannot find the internal modem, which doesn't surprise me.

Using minicom with the SME Server set to ttyS0 triggers the external modem and dial-up starts which is evident on the modem light panel.
 
But if I try to test the internet connection from within SME server with the ttyS0 external modem configured it fails with the modem not being triggered at all.

I am assuming that the configuration of SME-Server to use a dial-up connection with 'long' connect times should setup a dial-on-demand situation but its not happening. Assuming that I ignore the ttyS3 internal modem for the moment and just want to get the ttyS0 modem functioning, can anyone point me to what it is that I am missing?

TIA

cheers
Tony

[Tony Howden]

Hi All

I am still persisting with this and have just checked the scripts and log files.

a cat of messages shows that the connect script is failing at the ATZ command to the modem.

messages are:

send (ATZ^M)
expect (OK)
alarm
Failed

and its retrying every 10 seconds.

/dev/modem is linked to /dev/ttyS0

the chat-ppp0 script is set with correct phone number and the ifcfg-ppp0 is set to look at /dev/ttyS0 with the correct parameters

So if minicom automatically assumes that /dev/modem is the modem and triggers the modem why is SME-server constantly failing from its script when it points to /dev/ttyS0 ?

TIA

Tony

[Tony Howden]

Hi All

Stop looking.  I have just swapped the external modem for another model and its triggering just fine. There is obviously some variation between how minicom is addressing the port and how smeserver is addressing the port. Don' know why but the config will be for me to remove the internal and the old external, configure the replacement external and all should be well.

cheers
Tony

[Brian Barber]

I had trouble setting up my internal modem initially. Here's what I did...

I originally wanted to have the modem on COM4 (sorry for the Windows language) and IRQ 5, but I couldnot get that going.  I jumped through the same hoops as you.  After a search of the Internet, I found that some folks had trouble with having the modem set to COM4.  I set the modem to COM3 and its 'standard' settings for IRQ (4) and IO(3e8), which worked perfectly.

I would avoid COM4 and alternative IRQs.

Please report your progress.  If I can help, please let me know.

BB

[Tony Howden]

Hi

As it stands I am using a 4th modem that I had to play with and its on /dev/ttyS0 and obviously working as I am now on my notebook on the lan and browsing just fine via the SME Server.

I take your point on on COM4 being an issue, I did not try COM3 in my travels but the fact that the first external modem that I tried would trigger with the Minicom program but not with SME, using, at least in theory, the exact same settings, is what really puzzles me.

I will move on to my next SME server install on Monday. This one is an ethernet cable modem and should be a whole heap simpler.

cheers
Tony

[Glenn Kennedy]

I am experiencing exactly the same issue. My 5.1.2 server/gateway/dialup won't dial.

I've tried a USR v.90 internal ISA PnP (not a Winmodem) configured to COM2 (setserial, pnptools sees the modem, displays the model # and serial #), I've also tried a brand new ($149 at Staples today) external USR v.92 on COM1. Neither work. I reinstalled 5.1.2 after messing around with the internal modem; no action from the external modem. The log files shows the same set of entries as the earlier post on this thread "ATZ" "Alarm" etc.

Any ideas?

Glenn Kennedy
glennkennedy@rogers.com

[Tony Howden]

Hi

Start by swapping to the console and running minicom to see if the modem(s) respond. This will tell you if the hardware is the issue or the software config of sme-server.

My internal did not respond and while the first external I tried responded to minicom it did not function from the sme-server calls.

The internal may have been an issue with either a fault or the winmodem driver. While the second modem was an older model and probably just a driver issue. The final modem that I tried worked without issue.

The fact that you have what appear to be quality modems of the right type suggests that its your serial port configs that are the issue. Try checking your cmos entries to see that the ports are enabled. Try checking your modems via minicom. Try finding a boot diskette (dos or linux) that enables you to interogate the com ports to see their config, it may be that you have an obscure port setting (irq or i/o base address) that is not being matched with the linux/sme server config.

Report back on your success or failure as, from the number of emails I have, I am sure that this is of interest to many current and future users of sme-server.

cheers
Tony

[Glenn Kennedy]

Tony Howden wrote:
>
> Hi
>
> Start by swapping to the console and running minicom to see
> if the modem(s) respond. This will tell you if the hardware
> is the issue or the software config of sme-server.

after reading the earlier posts, i ran minicom and it acted very strangely. when it first loads, it displays and init string, then the modem lights flash, and the program basically hangs. it comes back with an ATZ about 60 seconds later, but i can't access any menus or communicate to the modem.

after crashing minicom and rebooting from the console, the behaviour of the modem under the console/regular server state changed. now, the modem comes off hook as esmith is booting (i believe when diald is loaded) and commences the handshake routine without dialing the number. i hear the dial tone, the handshake, and then eventually the bell you've-had-your-phone-off-the-hook-for-too-long sound. i turn the modem off and on, and within 60seconds it repeats this sequence.

once again, i have a brand new out of the box USR v.92 modem on the pc's only serial port, which is currently configured to COM2 IRQ3. i have esmith set to ttys1 .interestingly, i can boot to dos 6.1 and run procomm and connect to datapac, dial my home number, issue AT commands to the modem, etc. i am running e-smith 5.1.2 which i downloaded on may 24.

> The fact that you have what appear to be quality modems of
> the right type suggests that its your serial port configs
> that are the issue. Try checking your cmos entries to see
> that the ports are enabled. Try checking your modems via
> minicom. Try finding a boot diskette (dos or linux) that
> enables you to interogate the com ports to see their config,
> it may be that you have an obscure port setting (irq or i/o
> base address) that is not being matched with the linux/sme
> server config.

i haven't ruled out a config problem, but nothing seems awry in the bios. i'm running a vanilla IBM p166 PC350, i've restored the bios to factory settings - i see the com port configuration, no obvious problems, and again it works under dos/procomm.

 
> Report back on your success or failure as, from the number of
> emails I have, I am sure that this is of interest to many
> current and future users of sme-server.

these entries show up in /var/log/messages:

send (ATZ^M)
expect (OK)
alarm
Failed

hopefully this will help. and i note that there are several other posts to this forum where USR modems seem to cause this problem.

>
> cheers
> Tony