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Using and Configuring Features Version 3.4


Using a Dial-In Access to LANs (DIALs) Server

A DIALs Server allows remote users to dial in to a LAN and access the resources of the LAN in the same manner as if they were locally attached with a LAN adapter.

The IBM DIALs Dial-In Client runs on the remote workstation and provides the dial-in function. Figure 46 shows an example of a device used as a DIALs Server supporting the dial-in function.

Figure 46. An Example of a DIALs Server Supporting Dial-In



Figure shows two dial-in clients connecting to a dials server.

Note:The 2216 does not support dial-out interfaces.

Before Using Dial-In-Access

Before using Dial-In Access, you need:


Configuring Dial-In Access

This section describes how to configure the dial-in function on the DIALs Server. Configuring a client to use dial-in access is described in the documentation associated with the client the workstation uses.

Configuring Dial-In Interfaces

Dial-in interfaces on the 2216 are a special type of dial-circuit. Because most of the settings for a typical dial-circuit are not relevant for single-user dial-in applications, a new device type called dial-in can be added that sets appropriate defaults for the dial-circuit. Adding a dial-in device also sets up the PPP encapsulator configuration defaults that work with the majority of PPP dial-in clients, including the IBM DIALs Dial-In client. These defaults are described in "Dial Circuit Parameter Defaults for Dial-In Interfaces" and "Dial Circuit PPP Encapsulator Parameters for Dial-In Circuits".

Note:DIALs function can only be enabled on dial-in circuits. Dial-in circuits are only supported when the base net is an ISDN net.

Dial Circuit Parameter Defaults for Dial-In Interfaces

Notes:

  1. Do not override the parameters described in this section. Doing so will prevent the dial-in function from operating correctly.

  2. Some parameters may not be displayed or configurable. For a complete description of the parameters, see "Configuring and Monitoring Dial Circuits" in the Nways Multiprotocol Access Services Software User's Guide.

The following defaults are set when you add a dial-in interface:

Dial Circuit PPP Encapsulator Parameters for Dial-In Circuits

Note:For a complete description of the following parameters see "Using Point-to-Point Protocol Interfaces" in Nways Multiprotocol Access Services Software User's Guide.

The following defaults are set when you add a dial-in interface:

Adding a Dial-In Interface

To add a dial-in interface:

  1. Configure an available ISDN base net on the 2216. See "Using the ISDN Interface" in the Nways Multiprotocol Access Services Software User's Guide for configuration information.
  2. Enter talk 6 to access the Config > prompt.
  3. Enter add device dial-in at the Config > prompt to add the dial-in interface. You will be asked how many dial-in circuits to add. This command will create the new nets, report their net numbers, prompt for the base net number and prompt to enable for Multilink PPP.

    Example: Assume the current maximum net is 1 and you want to add 2 dial-in nets to the base 1 net.

Figure 47 is an example of defining a dial-in interface.

Figure 47. Adding a Dial-In Interface

              *talk 6                                                 
              Config>add device dial-in
              Enter the number of PPP Dial-in Circuit interfaces [1]? 2  
              Adding devices as interfaces 2-3
              Defaulting data-link protocol to PPP
                                                                                   
              Base net for this circuit [0]? 1 
              Enable as a Multilink PPP link? [no]                    
              Disabled as a Multilink PPP link.
              
              Base net for this circuit [0]? 1
              Enable as a Multilink PPP link? [no]
              Disabled as a Multilink PPP link.
                       
              Use "set data-link" command to change the data-link  protocol
              Use "net " command to configure dial circuit parameters.
              Config>li dev 
              Ifc 0     Ethernet                        Slot: 1    Port 1
              Ifc 1     8-port ISDN Primary T1/J1       Slot: 4    Port 1
              Ifc 2     PPP Dial-in Circuit                           
              Ifc 3     PPP Dial-in Circuit                           

Null Modem Usage

When using a null modem, use D25NM-3 full handshake:

Pin mapping:

1 to 1
1 to 1

2 to 3
3 to 2

4 to 5
5 to 4

6 to 8, 20
8, 20 to 6

7 to 7
7 to 7

Before Configuring Global DIALs Parameters

This section describes the global DIALs Server parameters.

Server Provided IP Addresses

The router can be configured to provide an IP address for a dial-in client to use for the duration of its connection. The address the router will assign to the client can be retrieved by 4 different methods. These methods, in order of priority are listed below:

  1. User ID

    An IP address can be stored in the PPP user profile for each client. When a client connects and requests an IP address, the router retrieves the address configured in that user's PPP user profile. This allows the user to get the same IP address each time, but requires a unique IP address for every user.

    Use the Config> add ppp-user command to configure an IP address in the PPP user profile.

  2. Interface

    An IP address can be stored in the dial-in interface configuration. When a client connects and request an IP address, the router retrieves the address from the interface through which the connection was made. This method requires a unique IP address for each dial-in interface.

    To set the interface IP address:

  3. Pool

    Blocks of IP addresses can be stored in a IP address pool. When a client connects and requests an address, the router retrieves an address from the pool. When the client disconnects, the address is returned to the pool. This method provides a single location for configuring dial-in client's IP address without the need for an address server.

    Use the DIALs config> add ip-pool command to add a pool of IP addresses.

  4. DHCP Proxy

    An IP address can be leased from a DHCP server. When a client connects and requests an address, the router requests an address from the DHCP server on behalf of the client. This method requires a DHCP server be present on the LAN or configured in the router. One DHCP server can provide addresses for clients on multiple routers. See Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) for more information.

    Use the DIALs config> add dhcp-server command to add a DHCP server.

IP Address Assignment Methods

The IP address used by a dial-in client for the duration of the connection may come from 5 different sources. These sources are listed in order of precedence:

  1. client provided
  2. user id assigned
  3. interface assigned
  4. address pool
  5. DHCP server

When a dial-in client connects, the router steps through these sources until it finds an address or exhausts all sources. If no IP address can be found, IPCP negotiation fails. Any combination of methods may be used.

The default configuration is:

 Client     :  Enabled
 UserID     :  Enabled
 Interface  :  Enabled
 Pool       :  Enabled
 DHCP Proxy :  Disabled    
Note:There are no addresses configured by default in the PPP user profile, the interface or the IP address pool.

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)

The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) was developed to provide configuration parameters to hosts on a network. Among other configuration parameters, DHCP has a mechanism for allocation of network addresses to hosts.

The Proxy DHCP feature acts as a client on behalf of a dial-in PPP user. This allows the device to obtain an IP address lease for the duration of the dial-in session, or until the lease expires. The IP address that is allocated from the DHCP server is communicated to the dial-in client through PPP IPCP (see "IP Control Protocol" in the Nways Multiprotocol Access Services Software User's Guide for a description of IPCP). The dial-in client software has no knowledge that DHCP was used to allocate an IP address, and thus requires no DHCP activation of any kind.

Proxy DHCP requires that at least one DHCP server be configured and accessible from the router.

Proxy DHCP requires that the addresses being allocated to dial-in users be within the same subnet of a directly connected LAN. In a typical configuration, this requires enabling proxy ARP subnet routing to allow the router to answer ARP requests to hosts on the local network on behalf of the dial-in clients.

Basic DHCP Setup

The most basic configuration calls for a single DHCP server on the same network as the router, with dial-in addresses to be leased within the same subnet as this LAN.

When the client dials in, a lease for an IP address is obtained from the DHCP server and used in IPCP negotiation with the client.

  1. Connect 2216 and DHCP to the same LAN.
  2. Configure and start the DHCP server (see your DHCP server's documentation for how to setup your server to lease IP addresses. Remember, the IP addresses to be leased MUST be within a subnet of a directly connected LAN and proxy ARP must be enabled on the 2216).
  3. The typical setup for Proxy DHCP disables Client-Specified, Userid, and Interface and Pool IP Address Negotiation options:
    Dials Config>list ip
    DIALs client IP address specification:
    Client : disabled
    UserID : disabled
    Interface : disabled
    DHCP Proxy : enabled
    
  4. Add DHCP server (Dials Config> add dhcp 10.0.0.111)
  5. Set dial-in client software to Server assigned.

    Notes:

    1. Server assigned configuration varies among different dial-in client implementations.

    2. The client software should not be configured to obtain its address from DHCP. The client should obtain its address by sending an address of 0.0.0.0 to IPCP on the initial configure request.
  6. For this setup, let the DHCP GATEWAY ADDRESS default to 0.0.0.0.

Multiple Hops to DHCP Server

The configured DHCP server(s) should be IP addresses which are reachable from the connected router. You should always be able to ping the server from the remote access box.

When the DHCP server is located multiple hops away, the server needs to know an address to reply to, and to indicate which pool to allocate an IP address from. The pool to allocate an IP from is important because the DHCP server could be utilized to serve addresses to a number of subnets and there must be some indication as to which pool of addresses to select from. The DHCP Gateway Address (giaddr) is used for this (the terminology is based on the definition given in RFC 2131). The giaddr must be an address that is local to the 2216, such as the token ring or Ethernet LAN port. Also, since the giaddr is the address which the DHCP server will use to reply, make sure you can ping this address from the DHCP server itself.

Multiple DHCP Servers Network

You can configure multiple DHCP servers for redundancy. When you configure multiple servers, the Proxy DHCP client asks all servers for an address and accepts the first response received. If any of the DHCP servers are more than one hop away, or are connected to a subnet which is not associated with the addresses in its pool, then giaddr must be configured. See "Multiple Hops to DHCP Server".

While there can be more than one DHCP server offering addresses, it is important to not allow the pool of addresses configured at each server to overlap. Further, because there is only one giaddr for the DHCP server to respond to and perform a lookup with, each pool of address must be in the same subnet as each other.

Dynamic Domain Name Server (DDNS)

A Domain Name Server (DNS) maps IP addresses to hostnames and is typically static in nature. Dynamic DNS is a feature that, when used with a DDNS DHCP server and a DNS server, enables DHCP to dynamically update the DNS server with an IP address and hostname mapping. This feature may only be used in conjunction with Proxy DHCP.

When you enable Dynamic DNS on the 2216 and you configure a hostname in the user profile (see "PPP Authentication Protocols" in the Nways Multiprotocol Access Services Software User's Guide), this hostname is passed as option 81 (DDNS) to the DHCP SERVER. If you configured the DHCP server correctly for DDNS, the DHCP server updates the DDNS server with the IP address that it leased to the router and the hostname that the router sent to it. This allows other users to access the dial-in client through the hostname rather than requiring the client to know the dynamically chosen IP address.


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