NAME    [Toc]    [Back]

     pppctl - PPP control program

SYNOPSIS    [Toc]    [Back]

     pppctl [-v] [-p passwd] [-t n] [host:]port | LocalSocket
            [command [;command ...]]

DESCRIPTION    [Toc]    [Back]

     This program provides command line  control  of  the  ppp(8)
daemon.  Its
     primary  use  is to facilitate simple scripts that control a
running daemon.


     pppctl is passed at least one argument, specifying the socket on which
     ppp(8)  is  listening.   Refer  to the set server command of
ppp(8) for details.
  If the socket contains a leading `/', it is taken as
an AF_LOCAL
     socket.   If  it  contains  a  colon,  it  is  treated  as a
host:port pair, otherwise
 it is treated as a TCP port specification on the  local machine
     (127.0.0.1).  Both the host and port may be specified numerically if you
     wish to avoid a DNS lookup or don't have an  entry  for  the
given port in
     /etc/services.

     All  remaining  arguments  are concatenated to form the command(s) that will
     be sent to the ppp(8) daemon.  If any semi-colon  characters
are found,
     they  are  treated as command delimiters, allowing more than
one command in
     a given ``session''.  For example (adding a route):

           pppctl 3000 add 192.168.1.0  255.255.255.0  127.0.0.1;
show route

     Don't  forget  to escape or quote the `;' as it is a special
character for
     most shells.

     If no command arguments are given, pppctl enters interactive
mode, where
     commands  are  read  from standard input.  When reading commands, the
     editline(3) library is used, allowing  command-line  editing
(with
     editrc(5) defining editing behaviour).  The history size defaults to 20
     lines.

     The following command line options are available:

     -p passwd    Specify the password  required  by  the  ppp(8)
daemon.  If this
                  switch  is  not  used, pppctl will prompt for a
password once
                  it has successfully connected to ppp(8).

     -t n         Use a timeout of n instead  of  the  default  2
seconds when
                  connecting.   This  may be required if you wish
to control a
                  daemon over a slow (or even a dialup) link.

     -v           Display all data sent to and received from  the
ppp(8) daemon.
  Normally, pppctl displays only non-prompt
lines received.
  This option is ignored in  interactive
mode.

ENVIRONMENT    [Toc]    [Back]

     The following environment variables are understood by pppctl
when in interactive
 mode:

     EL_SIZE     The number of history lines.  The default is 20.

     EL_EDITOR    The  edit  mode.   Only values of ``emacs'' and
``vi'' are accepted.
   Other  values  are  silently  ignored.
This environment
                 variable  will  override  the  ``bind  -v''  and
``bind -e'' commands
 in ~/.editrc.

EXAMPLES    [Toc]    [Back]

     If you run ppp(8) in -auto mode, pppctl can be used to automate many frequent
 tasks (you can actually control ppp(8) in any mode except interactive
 mode).  Use of the -p option is  discouraged  (even  in
scripts that
     aren't  readable  by  others)  as a ps(1) listing may reveal
your secret.

     The best way to allow easy, secure pppctl access is to  create a local
     server  socket in /etc/ppp/ppp.conf (in the correct section)
like this:

           set server /var/run/internet "" 0177

     This will instruct ppp to create a local domain socket, with
srw-------
     permissions and no password, allowing access only to the user that invoked
 ppp.  Refer to the ppp(8) man  page  for  further  details.

     You  can now create some easy-access scripts.  To connect to
the Internet:

           #! /bin/sh
           test $# -eq 0 && time=300 || time=$1
           exec pppctl /var/run/internet set timeout $time; dial

     To disconnect:

           #! /bin/sh
           exec pppctl /var/run/internet set timeout 300; close

     To check if the line is up:

           #! /bin/sh
           pppctl -p '' -v /var/run/internet  quit  |  grep  ^PPP
>/dev/null
           if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
             echo Link is up
           else
             echo Link is down
           fi

     You can even make a generic script:

           #! /bin/sh
           exec pppctl /var/run/internet "$@"

SEE ALSO    [Toc]    [Back]

     ps(1), editline(3), editrc(5), services(5), ppp(8)

HISTORY    [Toc]    [Back]

     The pppctl command first appeared in FreeBSD 2.2.5.

OpenBSD      3.6                           June      26,     1997