Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh

Informational Newsletter
Volume 96, Number 8
/projects/ckp/newsletter/v96n8.html


The PPS Modem Pool


Background

Since 1993, PPS staff dialed the University of Pittsburgh or Carnegie-Mellon University to gain access to the Internet. On October 31, 1996 access through the university modem pools will no longer exist. Through funding from the National Science Foundation and a cooperative effort between CK:P and the PPS Division of Computer Services, a PPS modem pool has been created. All PPS staff will have access to the Internet via the PPS modem pool. The modem pool will provide a limited number of lines through the day and a larger number of lines between 5:00 p.m and 6:00 a.m. The PPS modem pool will support SLIP, PPP and dialup access. This newsletter will provide you with the information you will need to gain access to the Internet through the PPS modem pool. The directions assume you are presently using the university modem pools. If you have never logged on, contact CK:P and they will provide you with instructions for new users.


Important Information

Access
phone numbers
gateway
DNS
DNS suffix
24 lines - always available622-8245 198.206.16.3 198.206.16.6 pps.pgh.pa.us
58 lines - evenings622-8273


Opening Screen of the PPS Modem Pool 


Pittsburgh Board of Public Education
 Modem Access Server - Unauthorized use prohibited!
 Packet headers are intermittently logged during testing and troubleshooting!

 Email for Help:        trouble@pps.pgh.pa.us
 Modem Pool Support:    622-3538        (8:00 AM - 5:00 PM)
 Software Support:      665-2230        (8:00 AM - 4:00 PM)

login: 
Password:
Service (ppp, slip, login):


Logging In at the PPS Modem Pool

  1. At login: type username@server (i.e. smith@cats1 or jones@sparta).
  2. At Password: type the password that you normally use to login to your email account.
  3. At Service (ppp, slip, login): type in ppp, slip, or hit Enter/Return to login to your email account.


    Obtaining Help

    If you need help moving to the PPS Modem Pool send email to: trouble@pps.pgh.pa.us
    If you are a PPS employee and would like an Internet account, call us at 665-2230.


    Configuring Your Software

    Dialup | PPP with Win3.1 | PPP with Win95 | Macs using InterSLIP


  4. Dialup Access for Users with Slow Modems (less than 14,400 baud)

    Step 1: Open your telecommunications software
    (Procomm, Qmodem, Works, Mirror, Terminal, Hyperterminal, Microphone, etc.)
    Step 2: Under the setup option in your software, change the phone number.
    Step 3: In the File menu, save the changes.
    Step 4: Dial the PPS modem pool and follow the directions for logging in.
    Step 5: At the login: prompt, type your username@server (zinga@cats1)
    Step 6: At the Password: prompt, type your personal cats1 (or mail server) password.
    Step 7: At the Service (ppp, slip, login): prompt, hit Enter/Return.
    Step 8: Login to your email account.


  5. PPP with Win3.1

    Step 1: Open Trumpet as you always do.
    Step 2: When you hear the modem dialing, press the ESCAPE key.
    Step 3: Under the File menu, go to Setup.
    Step 4: Under Name Server enter: 198.206.16.6
    Step 5: Under Domain Suffix enter: pps.pgh.pa.us
    Step 6: Place an X in the box next to "Internal PPP". Then click on OK.
    Step 7: From the File menu, choose PPP Options.
    Step 8: Make sure "Use Password Authentication Protocol (PAP)" is not checked. Click on OK.
    Step 9: From the Dialer menu, choose Edit Scripts and edit the login.cmd script. Edit your login.cmd script to look like the following:

    
#
if [username "Enter your pps username [login@server]:"]
  save $username
end
if [password "Enter your password:"]
  save $password
end
# Now initializing your modem :
output ATZ\13
if ! [input 10 OK\n]
  display "Modem is not responding"\n
  abort
end
#Telling your modem to dial the PPS modem pool . . .
output atdt6228273\13
input 50 CONNECT
input 50 login:
output $username\13
input 50 Password:
output $password\13
input 50 Service (ppp, slip, login):
output ppp\13
end

    Step 10: In the editor, go to the File menu and select Save. Go back to the File menu and choose Exit.
    Step 11: In Trumpet, go to the File menu and choose Exit.
    Step 12: Start Trumpet again. The new script should now work.
    Step 13: Use your Internet software once the IP address appears.

    * Note: You can use SLIP instead of PPP. Just make sure that the SLIP box is checked under setup and the login.cmd script says "slip" instead of "ppp".


  6. PPP with Win95

    Step 1: Go to My Computer on the desktop and select the Dialup Networking Folder.
    Step 2: From the Dial-Up Networking program group double click on Make New Connection.
    Step 3: Type a name for the modem pool you are dialing - PPS Modem Pool.
    Step 4: Your modem should be listed in Select a Modem. Click on Configure.
    Step 5: Choose the Options tab. Place a check in the square next to "Bring up terminal window after dialing."
    Step 6: Click on OK. Then click on Next.
    Step 7: Fill in the area code and the phone number (include *70 or 9 before your phone number if needed).
    Step 8: Choose Next and at the next window choose Finish.
    Step 9: Go to the program group Dial-Up Networking. It should contain a new icon named PPS Modem Pool.
    Step 10: Place the cursor over the PPS Modem Pool icon and click the right mouse button. Select Properties. This will open a window labeled PPS Modem Pool.
    Step 11: Click on the Server Type tab.
    Step 12: Select TCP/IP Settings. Be sure dots are in "Server assigned IP address" and "Specify name server addresses".
    Step 13: In Primary DNS type 198.206.16.7 as the address, in Secondary DNS type 198.206.16.8 as the address.
    Step 14: Primary WINS and Secondary WINS all should be left with 0's in the addresses.
    Step 15: Place a check in "Use IP header compression" and in "Use default gateway on remote network". Select OK.
    Step 16: Place a check in "Enable software compression" and in "TCP/IP". No other changes are necessary. Select OK.
    Step 17: The window is now labeled PPS Modem Pool. Select OK.
    Step 18: Create a shortcut for the PPS Modem Pool by pointing at the PPS Modem Pool icon, clicking with the right mouse button and choosing create shortcut. Answer yes to "would you like to place the shortcut on the desktop."
    Step 19: Close all windows on the desktop.
    Step 20: To test your setup, double-click on the PPS Modem Pool icon.
    Step 21: Click on Connect.
    Step 22: When the Dial-up window opens up, at the login, type in your username@server. At the password prompt, type in your password. At the service prompt, type in ppp. Strange characters will appear on your screen, click on Continue.
    Step 23: In a few seconds a small window will appear that says that you are connected to the modem pool.
    Step 24: You now have a ppp connection to the Net and you can use your Internet software.


  7. Macs using InterSLIP


    Step 1: Open Teach Text and create a new file using the "InterSLIP script" at the end of this document. If you choose to cut and paste the text from our script /projects/ckp/newsletter/v96n8.html#interslip be aware that pasting may add spaces to the beginning of lines. This will cause the script to fail. Remove spaces at the beginning of each line.
    Step 2: Save this file as PPS script to the Desktop.
    Step 3: Move the PPS script file from the Desktop to the Gateway Scripts folder which is nested three levels deep - System Folder, Preferences, InterSLIP, Gateway Scripts. If you are online, Quit InterSLIP.
    Step 4: Open InterSLIP Setup. From the File menu, select New.
    Step 5: The Name of the new configuration should be PPS.
    Step 6: Put the following information into the new window. You may need to adjust the information for your specific modem and phone service. Once this is done, click OK. Go to the file menu and save the new configuration.

    
Serial Port: Modem Port		Gateway: PPS script
Baud Rate: 57600		User name:
Data Bits: 8			X Prompt for password at connect time
Stop Bits: 1
Parity: None
X Hardware Handshaking		IP Address:
X Speaker on while dialing	Nameserver: 198.206.16.6
  Disable Automatic Connections	X RFC 1144 TCP Header Compression
Dial Script: Hayes-compatible		(Also often called "CSLIP")
Dial: Tone			MTU Size: 1006
Phone Number: 622-8273		
Modem Init: at&f1;


    Step 7: Go into the Control Panels, open MacTCP and make sure InterSLIP is selected.
    Step 8: Click on the More button.
    Step 9: Choose Manually from the Obtain Address section.
    Step 10: The Gateway Address is 198.206.16.3.
    Step 11: You should have a pps.pgh.pa.us domain. The new IP Address for this domain is 198.206.16.6. (Make this the default.)
    Step 12: Change the Obtain Address to Server
    Step 13: The Class must be B. The Subnet Mask should be 255.255.0.0.
    Step 14: Click OK
    Step 15: Close the MacTCP window and restart your machine (you may have to turn the machine completely off.

    Note- In a future newsletter we will have directions for using PPP with Open Transport on newer Macs.


    InterSLIP Script
    
 
! Script to connect to the PPS modem pool
@originate
! Wait two seconds
pause 120
note "Connecting..."
write "\13"
matchclr
matchstr 1 1 "login:"
matchread 240
note "PPS has not provided a login prompt."
jump 99
!
@label 1
note "Connecting..."
ask 0 "Please enter your PPS username (username@servername)"
write "^*\13"
matchclr
matchstr 1 2 "Password:"
matchread 240
note "PPS is has not provided a password prompt."
jump 99
!
@label 2
note "Authenticating..."
ask 1 "Please enter your email password"
write "^*\13"
matchclr
matchstr 1 3 "Service (ppp, slip, login):"
matchread 240
note "PPS has not provided a Service prompt."
jump 99
!
@label 3
note "Requesting SLIP"
write "slip\13"
matchclr
matchstr 1 4 "slip"
matchread 240
note "Cannot start SLIP. Try again later."
jump 99
!
@label 4
note "Reading IP address"
matchclr
matchexp 1 5 "[0-9][0-9]*\\.[0-9][0-9]*\\.[0-9][0-9]*\\.[0-9][0-9]*"
matchread 240
note "Cannot read IP address"
jump 99
!
@label 5
note "Connected with SLIP via PPS (ip=^0)"
setip "^0"
setmtu "^9"
pause 60
exit 0
!
@label 99
pause 1
sound
note "Aborting."
pause 60
exit -1



    Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh is a research project funded by the National Science Foundation to explore the educational utility of wide area networks for the national K12 community.