Jul 3, 2008

BSNL broadband on Linux

I did not realize it would be so easy.

The broadband got connected when i was in office. So, I was not able to check out what the guy did to get it to work on windows. Did he do it through a CD or what ? What was the settings that he used ? How will I get it working on linux ? None of these queries answered.

Googled a bit on it. Found that it is a PPPOE modem connection. There are a few howtos in it , which talk about configuring the interface and modifying the routing tables manually. Scary stuff. Then they mention as an alternative the pppoeconf ...

hmmm.

so all you need to do is run the following command on a terminal window :
sudo pppoeconf
and add the username and password when prompted, and just do 'ok' for everything else.

2 comments:

  1. That's strange Vibhu. Does that mean your PC has to sorta dial in, instead of the modem doing it on its own? With my airtel connection, and my friends' BSNL connection we have never had to run anything, just connect the cable and go..

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  2. Yes. That is correct - one has to dial up on bsnl connections.

    Airtel too is a dialup. However, the initial settings takes care of storing the username and password in the modem, and once it is done, for the user its transparent.

    So, in essense , for both, it is a dialup.

    On linux what happens is that pppoe daemon takes care of automating the dial-in on startup. So, in effect it feels that it is always on in Linux. Hurrah for automation !

    I got around the problem of dialing in on windows by using a wifi router which I had (netgear). So now, the username and password is stored in the router, and the windows net connection is always on.

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