If you run RedHat you probably have x windows up and running, and the RedHat guys have been nice enough to do a utility to help you get online.... You need to know the same stuff as when connecting from windows 95.
Login as root and start X windows, when the control panel comes up you start the Modem Configuration tool, and make sure it's correctly set. (It actually makes a link /dev/modem that points to the correct modem device.) Then you start minicom (or any other terminal program). Now we are going to find out how the login process works! When minicom has started (and complainded about you running it as root) you're supposed to call you ISP, this is done by writing ATDTtelephonenumber followed by enter. after this step your pretty much on your own coz all ISP have their individual login process, but your object is to logon and start PPP at your ISP, and remember the questions you get asked! Heres an example on how this can look
Welcome to minicom 1.75
Press CTRL-A Z for help on special keys
AT S7=45 S0=0 L1 V1 X4 &c1 E1 Q0
OK
ATDT026-4204900
CONNECT 28800/ARQ/V34/LAPM/V42BIS
User Access Verification
Username: s-30536
Password:
Swipnet>ppp
Entering PPP mode.
Async interface address is unnumbered (Ethernet0)
Your IP address is 130.244.159.23. MTU is 1500 bytes
Header compression will match your system.
What was the important stuff to remember? Well I got asked for a "Username:", "Password:" and then I ended up at a promt "Swipnet>" where i had to write PPP. Great now we know everything needed.
Start xwindows as root and start the controlpanel tool Network Configuration When it starts you write your nameserver (DNS) TCP/IP address in the field Nameservers:, then you click on Interfaces and select Add. Select PPP to be the device to be added, and write in the telephone number, username and password. Then you click on Customize, Communication. Now you edit and add and remove fields in the list according to the questions you got asked earlier. In the example above there where some diffrences to what the control panel has set: I changed the list to the following "expect" words (in this order) name:, word: and net>. And the respective answers to: s-30536, secret, PPP. when the list contains the words (only the last couple of chars in the questions) and they are in order you accept it and save changes. Now you can mark the newly created "ppp" device and click on activate, and it will make a ppp connection. Offcourse you can "edit" the device to change other stuff if you like. But for now you can try ftp for an example to se if it works.
Why invent the wheel again? You've managed to get online from X windows, why not use the stuff you just created and do it from shell (BASH)? When you press "Activate" in the control panel's network config tool it does exactly the same thing as we are going to do! Since most of the stuff like devices and ppp has to be started by the superuser (root) I made a little script "/sbin/ppp-on" and put the following stuff into it:
#!/bin/sh
pppd /dev/modem 38400 connect "chat -f /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/chat-ppp0" crtscts defaultroute
This script calls the same script that you made (without knowing it) with the controlpanel/network tool. This means... it will probably work!
Well then you have to check the following stuff: