Modem dial-on-demand in Mint?

[bbardon]

I've just set up a Mint installation for a dial-up user. I haven't had to use a modem in Linux in a while, but using gnome-ppp is fairly painless.

I seem to remember way back in my RedHat 5.1 days, that there was a way to configure auto-dial. So when you start a mail client or browser, the system detects traffic destined for the gateway, and dials to bring up the connection automatically. Then you could also set an idle time so it would hang up after n minutes of non-use.

Can anyone point me to a HOWTO or other means to make this happen? Thanks.

[Husse]

I fear it may not happen
I have to admit that we have treated the modem users somewhat unfairly - Elyssa is the first edition where ppp was included by default
It should work just fine to dial manually and then use the internet
I don't think I've even heard of such a solution but in the bad old modem days I was Win only ....

[bbardon]

It should work just fine to dial manually and then use the internet

Oh, it does, but this person is a Windows user, and while she is pretty savvy, I'm trying to make the switch as painless for her as possible. Lots of dial-up users use Netzero or Juno in the USA, and they integrate the mail client and the dialer in one program. The idea of dialing and controlling the connection separate from using mail is a new one to her.

I know this can be done, and Mint is no different than other Linuxes under the beautiful skin, as far as compiling code and writing scripts is concerned. If I find the answer I'll try to remember to post it here.

[bbardon]

Apparently there is a way to combine wvdial and pppd to make this happen. The most often-quoted source is David Pashley's Dial-on-demand with wvdial and pppd: http://www.davidpashley.com/articles/wv ... d-dod.html.

I haven't implemented it yet, but will test it in the next week or two.

[Husse]

Thanks
One burden less - and I am not joking. I don't even have a subscription (if that's the right word) for dial up any more....