Next Previous Contents

6. cfg_general: Configuration/General

6.1 cfg_general_msn: How should I set up isdn4linux with my MSNs?

See section config_msn .

6.2 cfg_general_hardware: How should I configure my hardware? Is there something special I should know about my ISDN card?

Have a look in section hardware .

6.3 cfg_general_dialmode: When an IP packet should go over the link (which usually triggers a dialout), all I see in the log is: "dial rejected: interface not indialmode `auto'"?

The new ISDN drivers in 2.0.36 defaults to manual dialmode, not autodial. This is done to prevent unexpected (and unnoticed) dialouts.

To enable autodial for a given interface e.g. ippp0, use 

isdnctrl dialmode ippp0 auto

The meaning of the values for dialmode is:

off

means that you (or the system) cannot make any connection (neither incoming nor outgoing connections are possible). Use this if you want to be sure that no connections will be made.

auto

means that the interface is in auto-dial mode, and will attempt to make a connection whenever a network data packet needs the interface's link. Note that this can cause unexpected dialouts, and lead to a high phone bill! Some daemons or other pc's that use this interface can cause this. Incoming connections are also possible.

manual

(DEFAULT) is a dial mode created to prevent the unexpected dialouts. In this mode, the interface will never make any connections on its own. You must explicitly initiate a connection with: 

isdnctrl dial ippp0
Please note that the huptimeout may still end the connection automatically! To ensure that you have to hang up manually, you have to switch this off: 
isdnctrl huptimeout ippp0 0
To end the connection, use: 
isdnctrl hangup ippp0

6.4 cfg_general_pnp: How do I configure a PNP (Plug and Play) card?

For PCI cards Plug and Play works automatically, they donīt need any manual configuration if the correct card type is provided. ISA PNP cards will require some manual configuration:

  1. With "make menuconfig" (or "make config") set the following kernel options:
  2. Compile and install kernel and modules, depmod. (Reboot!)
  3. Read the configuration of the PNP card with: 
    pnpdump > /etc/isapnp.conf
  4. The configuration file /etc/isapnp.conf has to be set by hand. Set the following values:
  5. Activate the configuration with: 
    isapnp /etc/isapnp.conf
    (must be started at every boot)
  6. Now the HiSax module can be started for Euro-ISDN with: 
    modprobe hisax io=4,2,INT,IO0,IO1
    (Replace INT, IO0, and IO1 with the your values in isapnp.conf.)

6.5 cfg_general_permission: How can I set up user permissions for the use of ISDN?

ISDN usage depends on the permissions to the devices /dev/ttyI* and /dev/cui*. To restrict dialout permissions you can establish the group `isdn' in /etc/group, and then do 

chgrp isdn /dev/ttyI* /dev/cui*
chmod o-rw /dev/ttyI* /dev/cui*
Then all users not in the group 'isdn' have no reading or writing privileges for the ISDN ttys. Those allowed to use ISDN have to be explicitly added to the group 'isdn'.

6.6 cfg_general_kerneld: Why shouldnīt I use kerneld to load the ISDN modules in the kernel as needed?

kerneld does not work well with the ISDN modules, since the ISDN modules can not store their status, and could miss important messages on the D channel. Newer versions of i4l ensure that they wonīt be unloaded by kerneld, but you should not try to use kerneld with any version of i4l.

6.7 cfg_general_runlevel: How can I boot Linux sometimes with ISDN, and sometimes without?

Yes, you can define two different run level for this (under SysVInit) in /etc/inittab. One run level includes the ISDN processes, where the other one does not.

6.8 cfg_general_links: What helpful links are there about isdn4linux?

Please note: these link list may be outdated, they have not been checked for a long while.

Next Previous Contents