<sect1 id="server-usage-overview">
<title>Overview</title>
<para>
The infrastructure described in this chapter uses the
client/server model to provide a public mail service through
the telephone line. In this configuration, we (the poeple
building the infrastructure) provide the information you (the
person using the infrastructure) need to know in order to
establish a dial-up connection from the client computer to the
server computer through the telephone line.
</para>
<para>
The infrastructure described in this chapter is made available
to you free of charge, however, you should know that
maintaining it costs both money and time. For example, for
each hour the server computer is on production there is an
electrical consume that need to be paid every month.
Likewise, each call that you establish from the client
computer to the server computer will cost you money, based on
the location you made the call from and the time you spend
connected.
</para>
<para>
In this manual, by dial-up connection we mean the action of
dialing-up a server computer from a client computer through a
Modem attached to the telephone line. In this infrastructure,
dial-up connections are always established from the client
computer to the server computer and never the other way
around. The main purpose of a client computer to establish a
dial-up connection with the server computer will be using one
or more Internet services provided in the server computer.
</para>
<para>
In order for the server computer to answer telephone calls, it
is required to install a Modem device in it (see <xref
linkend="server-install-modem" />). Once the Modem device has
been installed, you need to install and configure both
<application>mgetty</application> and
<application>pppd</application> programs. The
<application>mgetty</application> program must be run by
<systemitem class="daemon">init</systemitem> daemon in order
to take control over the Modem device. By default, inside
&TCD; (release 5.5), mgetty isn't configured to start with
<systemitem class="daemon">init</systemitem> daemon so you
need to do it yourself (see ...). Later, for attending
connection requests, you need to configure mgetty to use the
<application>pppd</application> program, so the Point-to-Point
Protocol (PPP) can be talked and IP packages can be
interchanged between the client computer and the server
computer. Later, you need to configure
<application>pppd</application> to adjust it to your needs
(see ...).
</para>
<para>
Once you've configured both <application>mgetty</application>
and <application>pppd</application> programs, the server
computer should be ready to attend incoming calls. The
remaining of this chapter describes the way incoming calls are
attended by the server computer once they have arrived to its
Modem device.
</para>
</sect1>