Wvdial

WvDial (pronounced 'weave-dial' ) is a utility that helps in making modem-based connections to the Internet that is included in some important Linux distributions. WvDial is a Point-to-Point Protocol dialer: it dials a modem and starts pppd in order to connect to the Internet.

When WvDial starts, it first loads its configuration from /etc/wvdial.conf and ~/.wvdialrc, which contain basic information about the modem port, speed, and init string, along with information about your ISP, such as the phone number, your user name, and your password.

Then it initializes your modem (strings are sent to the modem) and dials the server and waits for a connection (a CONNECT string from the modem). Any time after connecting, WvDial will start PPP if it sees a PPP sequence from the server or, alternatively, tries to start PPP. If all of this fails, WvDial just runs pppd and hopes for the best.

The connection started with WvDial can be dropped by switching back to the terminal from where it was started and pressing Ctrl-C.

WvDial uses the wvstreams library.