[KLUG Advocacy] OT: uPNP

[Mike Williams]

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>From: Adam Tauno Williams <awilliam at whitemice.org
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>You can configure 'demand dialing'.  Whenever the gateway receives
>traffic that needs to be routed to the external network it will raise
>the connection (dial in this case) and connect;  then, usually, the
>connection is torn down after a certain period of idle (no traffic).
>This works well, we used it for years before DSL.
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>
Tried that with the Windows box, with dismal success.  It would dial out 
randomly (in response to NetBIOS broadcasts, I think), and wouldn't 
always dial in response to something sensible like traceroute. Plus the 
fact that the machine that controls the modem is a desktop I'd prefer 
not to leave on all the time.  I've got an old machine that's going to 
be a mini server when I get the kinks out.  Maybe the "when to dial" 
logic is better in Linux.

>The solution for line sharing is (a) don't or (b) get a $5 phone blocker
>from Radio Shack, these won't let an extension get signal if the line is
>already off-hook.
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Option b might be worth trying if I can't manage option a, which 
involves dumping the modem for DSL.  The modem is a piece of junk 
anyway.  External, so it's a real modem (not winmodem) but it only 
manages a connection above 31.2k about once every other February 29th.

>Otherwise look around for a 'modem server'.  They're used to be quite a
>few techniques for doing remote modem control but modems don't get much
>attention these days (they are the #1 devices to eliminate from a
>network) and remote control of a modem only works till it freaks out and
>needs a hard reset.
>
Anybody want to guess how hard it would be to write a couple of putty 
scripts or something that would connect, give a name and password, bring 
up or down the Internet connection, and log out again?  They would need 
to be launchable from Windows and pretty idiot-proof.