What is PPP, and why would I want it?

PPP stands for point-to-point protocol, which is a technology for connecting to networks over standard serial (telephone) lines. In its most common implementation, users connect their personal computers to the Internet with PPP over a high-speed modem. It is similar to SLIP, but has more features and is more robust, providing error-checking and supporting the PAP and CHAP models of authentication.

Unlike programs such as ZTerm and Telix, which use your modem to connect to a terminal server, with PPP you have a more direct and flexible connection to the Internet. Many of the functions that you access by dialing up a terminal server and running them on a remote host (such as a Unix shell account), you can also do from your own computer. For instance, PPP allows you to use email, newsreading, and web browser programs that take advantage of your workstation's graphics capabilities and graphical user interface.

Following are some examples of what a PPP connection enables you to do:

• Telnet: Make terminal connections to remote computers
  
  
• FTP: Transfer files between your computer and other computers on the Internet
  
  
• World Wide Web: Use a browser (e.g., Netscape, Internet Explorer, or Safari) to access web sites on the Internet
  
  
• Usenet: Use a newsreader to participate in Usenet newsgroups
  
  
• Ping: Find out if a computer on the Internet is "alive"
  
  
• Microsoft Networking: Access hard drives on other computers as though they were on your own
  
  
• AppleShare/IP: Connect to AppleShare/IP servers to access volumes, printers, and other devices from Mac OS
  
  
• Email: Use fuller-featured mail programs, such as Outlook Express and Eudora

Also, consult the newsgroup comp.protocols.ppp.

Also see:

• Using Linux, how do I set up PPP?
• The IUB and IUPUI modem pools
• In Windows, how can I ping an IU computer from outside the IU network?
• For Mac OS or Mac OS X, using the IU modem pools, which PPP program should I use?