Running Applications over your PPP Link

Once you have connected your Solstice PPP client to a remote server, you can run network applications transparently over the PPP link in the same way as you would over your local area network connection.

Running Applications without using a Name Service

Name services, such as the Domain Name Service (DNS), are used to resolve hostnames into their corresponding IP addresses. You can run simple IP applications over your PPP link without enabling a name service on your client; however, you need to know the IP address or hostname of your server. This is the remote IP address displayed in the connection window by ppptool, as shown in Figure 3-3.

Figure 3-3 Remote IP Address of Server

Once you are connected to the server, you can use Unix commands such as rlogin(1), rsh(1), telnet(1), and ftp(1) to access the resources of the remote network.

Running Applications with DNS Enabled

The Domain Name Service (DNS) is the most commonly used mechanism for resolving IP addresses and hostnames. You need to use a system such as DNS if you want to be able to browse a network or to reach further than your server. The server must be configured to route IP traffic, and your system administrator or Internet provider must give you the following information:

• The domain name for the subnetwork

• The IP address(es) of your name server(s)

The name server, and the server to which your client is connected, may be the same machine; but they do not have to be.

To enable DNS on your client:

1. Edit the file /etc/nsswitch.conf, and modify the hosts entry as follows:

hosts:   files dns 

1. Create the file /etc/resolv.conf, and enter the domain name and the IP addresses of all the name servers as follows:

   domain xyz.Company.COM nameserver 179.xxx.aaa.11 nameserver ... nameserver ...

2. Optionally, edit the file /etc/hosts to add the IP address and hostname of your server:

   127.0.0.1 localhost 179.xxx.aaa.117 papyrus loghost 179.xxx.aaa.100 server

   All of these changes take place automatically; there is no need to reboot your machine.