Solving Common Problems

The following sections describe common problems you may encounter when installing or using Solstice PPP.

Problems Installing Solstice PPP

Problem: Cannot start pkgadd(1M).

Solution: You must log in as root or become superuser before you can run the pkgadd.

Problem: Cannot find the packages for Solstice PPP.

Solution: Check that you typed the source directory correctly. If the Volume Manager (vold) is running on your machine, the Solstice PPP packages are located in /cdrom/ppp_3.0. If you are not running the Volume Manager (vold) on your machine, you need to mount the CD-ROM manually. See Solstice PPP 3.0.1 Installation Guide and Release Notes for detailed instructions.

Problems Using Solstice PPP

Problem: Solstice PPP stops working after upgrading to Solaris 2.5.

Solution: Solaris 2.5 creates a default file /etc/ttydefs, which overwrites some changes made by Solstice PPP. Safeguard the configuration files ppp.conf, ppp.link, and the CHAT scripts. Reinstall Solstice PPP to correct the problem.

Problem: Cannot establish PPP link. Operation fails with the status message: "PPP error on ip_interface: Maximum number of configure requests exceeded"

Solution: PPP Configure-request frames are generated to start the link establishment phase. After a certain number of frames (defined by the keyword lcp_max_restart in the file ppp.conf) are generated without a valid response, the client assumes that the remote server is unreachable. This may indicate one of the following:

• There is a problem with the physical connection between the two hosts. Check the cable to your modem.

• PPP is not running on the remote host. Check that PPP is configured and started at both ends of the link.

• The link establishment phase is not completed, because the configuration negotiation does not converge. Check for configuration problems.

• If you are trying to establish a link over a long-delay network, such as a satellite connection, or over a congested line, the maximum number of configure requests may be exceeded before the negotiation is completed. Increase the maximum number of configure requests sent (lcp_max_restart) and the time between retries (lcp_restart_timer).

  Problem: Cannot establish PPP link. Operation fails with the status message: "Authentication failed"

  Solution: The peer authentication phase failed. Check that the PAP and CHAP parameters set on the two hosts are coherent. If the server requests authentication using either PAP or CHAP, the client must participate in the authentication phase, or the link is closed.

  Problem: Cannot establish PPP link. Operation fails with the status message: "Loop back detected"

  Solution: The PPP frames generated by the remote server are being reflected. The magic numbers contained in the PPP frames indicate a loop back condition. This may indicate one of the following:

• There is a problem with the physical connection between the two hosts. Check the cable to your modem.

• The UNIX login sequence is not completed successfully. Check that the login id and password set in the CHAT script are correct, and that a corresponding user account exists on the remote server. Check that the rest of the login dialog defined in the CHAT script is correct. If the remote server is not running a Solaris environment, you may need to modify the login sequence provided in the template file created by pppinit(1M).

• The remote host fails to respond quickly enough, and the maximum number of configure requests is exceeded before the negotiation is completed. Increase the maximum number of configure requests sent (lcp_max_restart) and the time between retries (lcp_restart_timer).

  Problem: Modem dials unexpectedly, or when the machine is rebooted.

  Solution: The IP interfaces associated with Solstice PPP are usually marked down, by default. However, if you modify the file ppp.conf to mark the interfaces up, the PPP link manager initiates the PPP link automatically whenever an IP datagram is passed to the interface by the IP layer.

  Some applications and processes broadcast requests occasionally. For example, when searching for a license daemon, or when the machine is rebooted. The PPP link manager responds to the broadcast and tries to dial the remote host.

  To prevent this behavior, mark the relevant IP interface down, and use pppconn(1M) to initiate connections as required.

  Problem: The connection phase fails with the error message: "PPP error on ipdptp1: Negotiation of mandatory options failed"

  Solution: Check that the IP interface used to initiate the connection, and the IP interface associated with the dialup path used to accept the connection have coherent IP addresses. The source address on the client must match the destination address on the server.

  Problem: Cannot make rsh(1) or rlogin(1) connection to the remote host. Operation fails with the message "Permission denied"

  Solution: Check for the hostname, or IP address, of your local host in the files /etc/.rhosts and /etc/hosts.equiv on the remote host. A + character in these files enables access for all hosts.