NAME
    wvdial - PPP dialer with built-in intelligence.

SYNOPSIS
    wvdial --help | --version | --chat | --config | option=value | --no-
    syslog | section...

DESCRIPTION
    wvdial is an intelligent PPP dialer, which means that it dials a  modem
    and starts PPP  in order to connect to the Internet. It is something
    like the chat(8) program, except that it uses heuristics to guess how
    to dial  and log into your server rather than forcing you to write a
    login script.

    When wvdial starts,  it  first  loads  its  configuration  from
    /etc/wvdial.conf and ~/.wvdialrc which contains basic information about
    the modem port, speed, and init string, along with information  about
    your Internet Service Provider (ISP), such as the phone number, your
    username, and your password.

    Then it initializes your modem and dials the server and  waits for a
    connection (a CONNECT string from the modem). It understands and
    responds to typical connection problems (like BUSY and NO DIALTONE).

    Any time after connecting, wvdial will start PPP if it sees a PPP
    sequence  from the server. Otherwise, it tries to convince the server
    to start PPP by doing the following:

 - responding to any login/password prompts it sees;

 - interpreting "choose one of the following"-style menus;

 - eventually, sending the word "ppp" (a common terminal server com-
    mand).

    If all of this fails, wvdial just runs pppd(8) and hopes for the best.
    It will bring up the connection, and then wait patiently for you to
    drop the link by pressin CTRL-C.

OPTIONS
    Several options are recognized by wvdial.

    --chat Run wvdial as a chat replacement from within pppd, instead of
    the more normal method of having wvdial negotiate the connection
    and then call pppd.

    --remotename
    Override the Remote Name setting in the dialer configuration
    section of the configuration file. This is mainly useful when
    you dial  to multiple systems with the same user name and pass-
    word, and you don't want to use inheritance to override this
    setting (which is the recommended way to do it).

    --config [configfile]
    Run wvdial with configfile as the configuration file (instead of
    /etc/wvdial.conf). This is mainly useful only if  you want to
    have per-user configurations, or you want to avoid having dial-
    up information (usernames, passwords, calling card numbers,
    etc.) in a system wide configuration file.

    --no-syslog
    Don't output debug information to the syslog daemon (only useful
    together with --chat).

    --help Prints a short message describing how to use wvdial and exits.

    --version
    Displays wvdial's version number and exits.

    wvdial is normally run without command line options, in which case it
    reads  its  configuration from the [Dialer Defaults] section of
    /etc/wvdial.conf. (The configuration file is described in more detail
    in wvdial.conf(5) manual page.)

    One or more sections of /etc/wvdial.conf may be specified on the com-
    mand line. Settings in  these sections will override settings in
    [Dialer Defaults].

    For example, the command:
    wvdial phone2

    will read default options from the [Dialer Defaults] section, then
    override any or all of the options with those found in the [Dialer
    phone2] section.

    If more than one section is specified, they are processed in the order
    they are given. Each section will override all the sections that came
    before it.

    For example, the command:
    wvdial phone2 pulse shh

    will read default options from the [Dialer Defaults] section, then
    override any or all of the options with those found in the [Dialer
    phone2] section, followed by the [Dialer pulse] section, and lastly the
    [Dialer shh] section.

    Using this method, it is possible to easily configure wvdial to switch
    between different internet providers,  modem init strings, account
    names, and so on without specifying the same configuration information
    over and over.

BUGS
    "Intelligent" programs are frustrating when they don't work right.
    This version of wvdial has only minimal support for disabling or  over-
    riding its "intelligence", with the "Stupid Mode", "Login Prompt", and
    "Password Prompt" options. So, in general if you have a nice ISP, it
    will probably work, and if you have a weird ISP, it might not.

    Still, it's not much good if it doesn't work for you, right? Don't be
    fooled by the fact that wvdial finally made it to version 1.00; it
    could well contain many bugs and misfeatures. Let us know if you have
    problems by sending e-mail to <wvdial@nit.ca>.

    Also, there is now a mailing list for discussion about wvdial. If you
    are having problems, or have  anything else to say, send e-mail to
    <wvdial-list@lists.nit.ca>.

    You may encounter some error messages if you don't have write access to
    /etc/ppp/pap-secrets and /etc/ppp/chap-secrets. Unfortunately, there's
    really no nice way around this yet.

FILES
    /etc/wvdial.conf
    Configuration file which contains modem, dialing, and  login
    information. See

    /dev/ttyS*
    Serial port devices.

    /etc/ppp/peers/wvdial
    Required for correct authentication in pppd version 2.3.0 or
    newer.

    /etc/ppp/{pap,chap}-secrets
    Contains a list of usernames and passwords used  by pppd for
    authentication. wvdial maintains this list automatically.

AUTHORS
    Dave Coombs and Avery  Pennarun for Net Integration Technologies, as
    part of the Worldvisions Weaver project. We would like to thank SuSE
    and RedHat for adding a number of various cool features to Thanks guys!

SEE ALSO
    wvdial.conf(5),wvdialconf(1), pppd(8), chat(8).

    FAQ:  http://www.dsb3.com/wvdial/