Linux PPP FAQ: Other implementations

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## 3. Other implementations

## 3.1 Do you know of a implementation for PPP other than Linux? I would like one for HP-UX, or AIX, or ... (you fill in the blank)?

Check the PPP FAQ document mentioned above.

HP-UX is supported by the commercial Morningstar package. AIX is in the current 2.2 pppd package.

If you don't find one listed then post to the comp.protocols.ppp group and not the Linux group.

(Please don't mail me asking for \Do you know of a PPP package for ...\? These requests will now be \appropriately\ filed. ;-))

The pppd package placed on sunsite does not contain the code which would use the some of the ports which use the streams interface. This is due to the reason that the streams interface contains a restrictive copyright which prevents the commercial packaging of the source which contains the module. We, the people who have been working on the pppd package, have tried to contact the author of the original module for streams in an attempt to have the copyright changed. He was un-responsive at first. Now he can not be located.

For this reason, and due to the fact that the sunsite site is for Linux, I decided to remove the AIX, Next, and any other port of pppd which involved the original streams code. The SunOS and Solaris ports are included since their streams implementation has been rewritten. You should continue to find the BSD variation as well as the Linux form in the package. If you wish the pppd code for a system which uses streams then you will have to consult the PPP-FAQ for the location of the pppd archive site near you. Alternately, you can use archie. Just don't use the mirrors for sunsite as they will not have the code.

## 3.2 Did you know that there is a program called \dp\?

Yes, we know. The dp package was considered very early in the development stage quite a few months back. It is nice. It supports \demand dial\. It also only works with systems which support streams. This is primarily the SunOS (Solaris) operating systems.

The question of demand dial is covered later in this document.

Linux, at the present time, does not supports streams.

There are several other packages for PPP available on the \net\. The \portable PPP\ package is very much like the TIA code. There is another package called simply \PPP\. There is code for PPP in the KA9Q package.

The slirp and TIA code will do PPP as well.

Of all of the packages available, the pppd package was the closest to the requirements and functions of Linux to warrant the port.

(If you want more information about these other packages, ask in the comp.protocols.ppp group!)

## 3.3 What RFCs describe the PPP protocol?

The current implementation of PPP is a mixture of several.

The major portion of the PPP code is written against the RFCs 1331 and 1332. These RFCs were later obsoleted. 1331 was replaced by 1548 and that, in turn, was obsoleted by 1661 six months later. Most implementations of PPP will be happy to talk to the Linux PPP code.

This does not mean that the Linux PPP package is obsolete. It is only that at the time that the package was written the current RFC was 1331. Any changes in subsequent RFC documents has been incorportated within the pppd package and it is \current\ by today\s standards.

A complete list is in the faq for comp.protocols.ppp.

[to quote the FAQ document]:

> All of 1134, 1171, and 1172 (and 1055, for that matter :-) have been obsoleted. They\re interesting only if you want to debug a connection with an ancient PPP implementation, and you\re wondering why (e.g.) it asked you for IPCP option 2 with a length of only 4, and Compression-Type 0x0037.

> (There\s a lot of that still running around - be careful out there.)

Linux PPP will automatically detect these conditions and compensate for it.

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