To use ISDN, initiate a connection to a remote system or network using the ISDN Manager, then use a shell window to log in to or transfer files between your system and the remote system or network.
The connection uses PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol). For more information, see the ppp man page.
This chapter contains these sections:
When you start a connection, you are placing a telephone call from your system to another system. The telephone company charges you by the minute as long as the connection is open, regardless of whether you are actively transferring files or are logged in to a remote system. Be sure to close the connection when you are not using it (see “Stopping a Connection”).
To start an ISDN connection you need the root password or the necessary privileges.
To start a connection, follow these steps:
Open the ISDN Manager.
Select the Network and Connectivity category in the left-hand column of the System Manager window (see “Using the Interactive Guides” in Chapter 2). In the right-hand column, click ISDN Manager.
Click the Line Status button.
To monitor the progress of ISDN, start an ISDN connection whose information you entered in “Building a List of Remote ISDN Connections” as follows:
Open the PPP Manager.
Select the Network and Connectivity category in the left-hand column of the System Manager window (see “Using the Interactive Guides” in Chapter 2). In the right-hand column, click PPP Manager.
In the list of PPP connections that appears, double-click the connection you want to open.
In the PPP Status Panel that appears, click the Start Connection button.
The status line informs you that the connection is open.
To close the connection, click the Close Connection button.
The status line informs you that the connection is closed.
 | Note: Be sure to close the connection when you are not using it. As long as the connection is open, the telephone company charges you just as it does for a standard telephone call. |
To monitor the progress of PPP, open a shell window, and type
netstat -C
When you place the call, the asterisk (*) next to the ppp0 listing should disappear. For more details, see the netstat man page. To stop netstat from running, type
q
Once the connection is open (see “Starting a Connection”), you can log in to the following:
The remote system to which you connected using ISDN.
Any remote system that's on the same network as the system to which you connected and whose hostname and IP address appear in your /etc/hosts file. For more information, see “Adding Remote Systems to the /etc/hosts File.”
To log in to a remote system, follow these steps:
Choose Open Unix Shell from the Desktop Toolchest.
You can log in to the system using either the rlogin command or the telnet command.
To use rlogin, position your cursor over the shell window and type
rlogin <remote hostname> -l <your login name>
You are logged in when you see the remote system's prompt. For more information, see the rlogin man page.
If you do not see the prompt after several seconds, press
<Ctrl-c>
To use telnet, position your cursor over the shell window and type
telnet <remote hostname>
The remote system responds with a login prompt. Type your login name and, if requested, your password. For more information, see the telnet man page.
If you do not see the prompt after several seconds, press:
<Ctrl-c>
To log out of a remote system, type
logout
When you are finished using the remote system, you may want to close your ISDN connection; see “Stopping a Connection.”
Once the ISDN connection is open (see “Starting a Connection”), you can transfer files between your system and the following:
The remote system to which you connected using ISDN.
Any remote system that's on the same network as the system to which you connected, and whose hostname and IP address appear in your /etc/hosts file. For more information, see “Adding Remote Systems to the /etc/hosts File.”
You can transfer files using any of several transfer utilities. See “Accessing Remote Files and Directories” in Chapter 10 of the Desktop User's Guide for details on copying files graphically using the desktop, and for an overview of rcp and ftp. For more details on rcp and ftp, see their man pages.
If you encounter any problems copying files, make sure that you can successfully log in to the remote system; see “Logging In to Remote Systems.” If you cannot log in, see “Troubleshooting the ISDN Connection.” If you can log in but still cannot successfully transfer files, see the man page for the utility you are using or see the Desktop User's Guide .
To stop (close) a connection, you need the root password or the necessary privileges. Be sure to close the connection when you are not using it; the telephone company charges you by the minute as long as the connection is open, regardless of whether you are actively transferring files or are logged in to a remote system.
To close the connection, follow these steps:
Open the PPP Manager.
Select the Network and Connectivity category in the left-hand column of the System Manager window (see “Using the Interactive Guides” in Chapter 2). In the right-hand column, click PPP Manager.
In the list of PPP connections that appears, double-click the connection you want to close.
In the PPP Status Panel that appears, click the Close Connection button.