Intrepid Network Manager Lacks Dial-up & Work-Around

[Richard Keefer]

Binary package hint: network-manager

The lack of dial-up support is a huge handicap for Ubuntu in attracting new users. Ubuntu should be a natural for millions of dial-up people because of its lean resource requirements,-- and especially for those who dread tying up their lines with Vista updates/SPs. While there was grudging dial-up support in Feisty and Gutsy, the utter lack of it now with Intrepid is preventing millions of people here in Canada and elsewhere from switching to Ubuntu. Let's deal with the Intrepid/Ubuntu 8.10 challenges,-- and I'm being positive here in the fact I'm writing on an Intrepid installation via dial-up on a Winmodem, through Gnome-PPP, and without having Firefox "work Offline" issues. While I've done this on multiple machines, the steps to get here asks too much of many users,-- and therefore I'm urging that the dialup oversight be fixed, possibly by giving the option of using the earlier NM or by incorporating the earlier features.

Work-Arounds for Dial-up with Intrepid

1. The lack of support for dial-up is one NM issue, but the other is its interference with Firefox in causing the "Work Offline" annoyance. Fixes for the Firefox annoyance range from
(a) entering about:config in the Firefox address line and toggling the last field of browser.offiine, browser.offline-apps.notify, and network.online to false,
(b) to the more extreme but powerful one of editing of NetworkManager.conf as:
  sudo gedit /etc/dbus-1/system.d/NetworkManager.conf
and replacing all instances of "allow" with "deny". When in doubt, save back-up copies of any files you experiment with. My experience is that the effectiveness of (a) seems to be mobo-specific, while (b) is brute-force-effective.

2. Now, while many dial-up people will simply pack it in on Intrepid, and either stay with an earlier version or leave Ubuntu shaking their heads, here are the steps on how to do it for many winmodems:
(a) Check your modem chipset. If it's a Conexant marked with HSF, then you can either download and purchase a kernel-specific driver from Linuxant, or hybridize the necessary driver from Linuxant's free version hsfmodem-7.80.02.03full.tar.gz (for user evaluation at 14.4 kB/s) and the free Hardy driver hsfmodem-7.68.00.09oem.tar.gz on the Dell Ubuntu driver site. I've tried the HSF drivers over a range of the corresponding modems and found them to work well (the only problem I had was with a batch of older Conexant modems bought on eBay). Driver coverage for other modems is patchy, and for the cost of a modem, HSF is probably the easiest way to go. If you want to verify that a modem will work, Linuxant has listings of makes and chipsets on its website, along with a diagnostic program and instructions.

Since Dell doesn't yet supply the Intrepid HSF driver, here are the steps for hybridizing to a full-speed driver:
(i) Download the source Hardy hsfmodem-7.68.00.09oem.tar.gz from Dell and hsfmodem-7.80.02.03full.tar.gz from Linuxant by Googling the filenames + company names. Expand the packages and change to the storage location.
(ii) Remove modules/imported from the Linuxant source directory.
  sudo rm -r hsfmodem-7.80.02.03full/modules/imported
(iii) Substitute modules/imported from the Dell Hardy driver source directory to make the hybrid.
  sudo cp -r hsfmodem-7.68.00.09oem/modules/imported hsfmodem-7.80.02.03full/modules/imported
(iv) Change to the Linuxant source and install.
  cd hsfmodem-7.80.02.03full
  sudo make install
(v) Finally, configure.
  sudo hsfconfig
I found it was necessary just to hit enter at the prompts. Then restart. The installation can be checked with
  sudo hsfconfig --info
and the command set (including driver removal) is listed with
  sudo hsfconfig --help

(b) Set up wvdial to update Add/Remove programs:
  sudo wvdialconf
  sudo gedit /etc/wvdial.conf
Check and edit Username, Password, Phone, and the modem address (typically Modem=/dev/ttySHSF0 for these modems).
You can now dial and update (and access Firefox) after starting it in terminal with
  sudo wvdial
(c) Add Gnome-PPP from Add/Remove>All available applications. Gnome-PPP will only run from root without changing permissions.
(d) Gnome-PPP permissions:
First, System>Administration>Users and Groups>Unlock>Manage Groups>Add Group>dip>properties>tick username.
Then
  sudo chown root:dip /usr/sbin/pppd
  sudo chmod 4754 /usr/sbin/pppd
  sudo chmod 777 /etc/ppp/pap-secrets
  sudo chmod 777 /etc/ppp/chap-secrets
  sudo chmod 777 /etc/ppp/peers

With these changes, Intrepid works nicely on dial-up.

Having recommended earlier Ubuntu versions for dial-up people experiencing frustration in the MS world, I'd like to be able to do the same for Intrepid.

Richard

[Fred Fox (fredfox)]

I got Gnome-ppp working in Jaunty (changed froup to dip and permissions to 660 on /etc/ppp/pap-secrets and chap-secrets), but applications still would not use the dialup connection. Modifying the .conf file as you suggested worked although it neutered NetworkManager. (It doesn't know what happened to it.) I will be testing it in a mixed wired, wireless, dialup environment.

Thanks, at least I can do dialup now, and if I need to I can change .conf back.

[Richard Keefer (rmkeefer)]

Dear Fred,

I feel we're a bit like monkeys at the keyboard on this, and that
there's probably an elegant fix in modifying Network Manager itself,--
but familiarizing myself with its innards is not something I have time
for.

BTW, I had tried swapping-in an earlier Network Manager, as suggested by
some people in the Far East, but no luck with the changes they
suggested.

There are about 1.5 MM people on dial-up in Canada, suggesting perhaps
10-15 MM people in the U.S., and so it seems myopic not to fix the
problem.

Another avenue I'm trying in the next few days is to see if I can grab
some of the Red Flag Linux utilities, since there is a lot of dial-up
there.

Best wishes,

Richard

. On Thu, 2009-07-23 at 00:22 +0000, Fred Fox wrote:
> I got Gnome-ppp working in Jaunty (changed froup to dip and permissions
> to 660 on /etc/ppp/pap-secrets and chap-secrets), but applications still
> would not use the dialup connection. Modifying the .conf file as you
> suggested worked although it neutered NetworkManager. (It doesn't know
> what happened to it.) I will be testing it in a mixed wired, wireless,
> dialup environment.
>
> Thanks, at least I can do dialup now, and if I need to I can change
> .conf back.
>
> --
> Intrepid Network Manager Lacks Dial-up & Work-Around
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/359725
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in “network-manager” package in Ubuntu: New
>
> Bug description:
> Binary package hint: network-manager
>
> The lack of dial-up support is a huge handicap for Ubuntu in attracting new users. Ubuntu should be a natural for millions of dial-up people because of its lean resource requirements,-- and especially for those who dread tying up their lines with Vista updates/SPs. While there was grudging dial-up support in Feisty and Gutsy, the utter lack of it now with Intrepid is preventing millions of people here in Canada and elsewhere from switching to Ubuntu. Let's deal with the Intrepid/Ubuntu 8.10 challenges,-- and I'm being positive here in the fact I'm writing on an Intrepid installation via dial-up on a Winmodem, through Gnome-PPP, and without having Firefox "work Offline" issues. While I've done this on multiple machines, the steps to get here asks too much of many users,-- and therefore I'm urging that the dialup oversight be fixed, possibly by giving the option of using the earlier NM or by incorporating the earlier features.
>
> Work-Arounds for Dial-up with Intrepid
>
> 1. The lack of support for dial-up is one NM issue, but the other is its interference with Firefox in causing the "Work Offline" annoyance. Fixes for the Firefox annoyance range from
> (a) entering about:config in the Firefox address line and toggling the last field of browser.offiine, browser.offline-apps.notify, and network.online to false,
> (b) to the more extreme but powerful one of editing of NetworkManager.conf as:
> sudo gedit /etc/dbus-1/system.d/NetworkManager.conf
> and replacing all instances of "allow" with "deny". When in doubt, save back-up copies of any files you experiment with. My experience is that the effectiveness of (a) seems to be mobo-speci...

[tp42 (45-spamex)]

Dear Richard,

thanks a lot for the tips on how to overcome the obstacles with network manager in Interpret and Jaunty.

I work on a fully patched Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty installation an try to get an external USRobotics UBS dial-up modem online. No success so far, although I got it to work with Ubuntu 8.10. Some details:
- Setting up the dial-up connection was done with pppconfig
- pon ISP and poff work with my user permissions, plog is only available via sudo plog
- ifconfig shows the ppp0 connection (DNS, IP, Gateway are all ok)
- Network Tools show the ppp0 connection
- NetworkManager Applet 0.7.0.100 does not realize ppp0.

I tried suggestion 1a and 1b. Both without success. Firefox, Evolution and other software still think, that there is no Internet connection. What could I else do to get the applications working correctly?

Thanks in advance.

[Richard Keefer (rmkeefer)]

Hi tp42,

I haven't done it yet with Jaunty/external combo. When I feel brave
enough to try, I'll let you know if it works.

Seems to get tougher with each version,

Richard

On Sat, 2009-08-01 at 20:24 +0000, tp42 wrote:
> Dear Richard,
>
> thanks a lot for the tips on how to overcome the obstacles with network
> manager in Interpret and Jaunty.
>
> I work on a fully patched Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty installation an try to get an external USRobotics UBS dial-up modem online. No success so far, although I got it to work with Ubuntu 8.10. Some details:
> - Setting up the dial-up connection was done with pppconfig
> - pon ISP and poff work with my user permissions, plog is only available via sudo plog
> - ifconfig shows the ppp0 connection (DNS, IP, Gateway are all ok)
> - Network Tools show the ppp0 connection
> - NetworkManager Applet 0.7.0.100 does not realize ppp0.
>
> I tried suggestion 1a and 1b. Both without success. Firefox, Evolution
> and other software still think, that there is no Internet connection.
> What could I else do to get the applications working correctly?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> --
> Intrepid Network Manager Lacks Dial-up & Work-Around
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/359725
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in “network-manager” package in Ubuntu: New
>
> Bug description:
> Binary package hint: network-manager
>
> The lack of dial-up support is a huge handicap for Ubuntu in attracting new users. Ubuntu should be a natural for millions of dial-up people because of its lean resource requirements,-- and especially for those who dread tying up their lines with Vista updates/SPs. While there was grudging dial-up support in Feisty and Gutsy, the utter lack of it now with Intrepid is preventing millions of people here in Canada and elsewhere from switching to Ubuntu. Let's deal with the Intrepid/Ubuntu 8.10 challenges,-- and I'm being positive here in the fact I'm writing on an Intrepid installation via dial-up on a Winmodem, through Gnome-PPP, and without having Firefox "work Offline" issues. While I've done this on multiple machines, the steps to get here asks too much of many users,-- and therefore I'm urging that the dialup oversight be fixed, possibly by giving the option of using the earlier NM or by incorporating the earlier features.
>
> Work-Arounds for Dial-up with Intrepid
>
> 1. The lack of support for dial-up is one NM issue, but the other is its interference with Firefox in causing the "Work Offline" annoyance. Fixes for the Firefox annoyance range from
> (a) entering about:config in the Firefox address line and toggling the last field of browser.offiine, browser.offline-apps.notify, and network.online to false,
> (b) to the more extreme but powerful one of editing of NetworkManager.conf as:
> sudo gedit /etc/dbus-1/system.d/NetworkManager.conf
> and replacing all instances of "allow" with "deny". When in doubt, save back-up copies of any files you experiment with. My experience is that the effectiveness of (a) seems to be mobo-specific, while (b) is brute-force-effective.
>
> 2. Now, while many dial-up people will simply pack it in on...

[squiggleslash (squiggleslash)]

Agreed.

The same issue effectively prevents any easy way to access the Internet via a Bluetooth mobile phone and GPRS/EDGE. It took quite a bit of hacking around and scripting to get things working, and in the meantime I'm having that stupid "forcing Firefox offline" thing happening all the time.

Why anyone thought removing dial-up support from NM would be a good idea is beyond me.