There is currently little GUI (visual tool) support for configuring modems, much less configuring SLIP. Therefore, configuration involves working in a shell, and these instructions presume at least limited familiarity with text editors, such as vi or jot.
Type the following to verify software installation:
% versions -a eoe{1,2}.\*.{uucp,slip}
I = Installed, R = Removed
The following is displayed if the software is installed:
I = Installed, R = Removed Name Version Description I eoe1 762495609 IRIX Execution Environment 1, 5.2 I eoe1.man 1011009700 IRIX Execution Environment Man Pages I eoe1.man.uucp 1011009700 UNIX-to-UNIX Copy Man Pages I eoe2 762380174 IRIX Execution Environment 2, 5.2 I eoe2.man 1011009700 IRIX Execution Environment Man Pages I eoe2.man.slip 1011009700 SLIP Man Page I eoe2.sw 1011009700 IRIX Execution Environment Software I eoe2.sw.slip 1011009700 SLIP Software I eoe2.sw.uucp 1011009700 UUCP Utilities
IP Address Selection
IP address selection and routing are intimately connected. You cannot
discuss one without at least mentioning the other. Routing is how the
packets know where to go in the network. Using an incorrect IP address can
cause routing problems for more than just the machine with the incorrect IP
address. In the worst case it can cause the whole network to fail!
Proceed with IP address selection.
Terminology
Throughout this document, I refer to a server host as one
that provides the service of a connection to the larger
network. Similarly, a client host is one that uses the
service. It is unrelated to which host does the dialing and which host
answers, although the client almost always dials and sometimes answers.
Setting the Dialout Configuration
This involves modifying several configuration files. The information needed
to perform the configuration includes:
127.0.0.1 localhost loghost xx.yy.zz.ww myname.domain.sgi.com myname aa.bb.cc.dd remote.domain.sgi.com remote 224.0.0.0 multicast
Direct ttyd2 - Any direct Direct ttym2 - Any direct Direct ttyf2 - Any direct
ACUslip ttyf2 null 38400 212 x t3000
remote Any ACUslip 38400 phone_number "" \r\c ogin:--ogin: login_name assword: password framing
Irix SLIP sends out a message with the framing name before actually starting the protocol, adding a final match of "SLIP" ensures that the login really succeeded. I make the convention or prefixing remote with "S" for SLIP, followed by the hostname.
For Irix4 and Irix5 enter the following:
/usr/etc/slip -o -c -p cslip -r remote -l my_slip_address -u remote & [wait for the connection message] /usr/etc/route add net default remote 1 # only on a client!!!!I strongly recommend always specifying all of the -l, -r and -u options, and possibly the -m netmask option as well. Someday you are going to make a "trivial" change that breaks SLIP, and this just might be the hint you need to fix it...
Irix5 version can be configured to start on boot, and does dynamic link management. Something like the following script can be put in /etc/init.d/network.local, and a link added in /etc/rc2.d to start a SLIP connection at boot time. Starting PPP at boot shows an alternate method of starting at boot time.
Note: Don't use the '-R ""' option on a server! See `man
slip` for more info. The syntax of the -R "-" option varies
slightly between releases. See the man page for more details.
chat_name is the first field of the Systems entry if it is
different than the hostname of the remote.
#!/bin/sh
# slip boot startup script
case $1 in
start)
/etc/killall slip
/usr/etc/slip -q -p cslip -R "" -r remote -u chat_name -l my_slip_address &
;;
stop)
/etc/killall slip
;;
esac
For the dynamically dialed setup, such as, Irix5 `slip -q`, you can start a
link via a ping or rlogin or almost anything that wants to go over the
link. The connection timesout and hangsup the phone after a programmable
idle time, then re-dials when the traffic resumes. This can save a lot of
money if you are connecting long distance! The idle times are configurable
(see the respective man pages). Note that it takes about 30 seconds for
the first packet to get through when starting an idle line, so active
timeouts much less than a couple of minutes are more frustrating than
useful.
Setting the Dialin Configuration
A SLIP server is easier to configure than a SLIP client, but security is
far more important, since it is required to have dialable modems. There
are three parts to configuring a server:
Enabling SLIP Client Dialin
The information in the Adding Clients
document provides the configuration instructions necessary for adding
clients and enabling client dialin.
Debugging Your Installation
Things don't always work the way you expect or want them to. Sometimes
things either don't work to start with or they stop working for no apparent
reason. Refer to the Debugging document for
suggestions you can try in these situations.