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FIRN supports only Macintosh computers which are running System 7.6 or later. To prepare your Macintosh computer to connnect to FIRN you will have to configure three control panels (steps 1-4 below). This one-time process will take about ten minutes. Once you have your computer properly configured, connecting to FIRN will be fast and easy (step 5 below).

Step 1: Configure your modem control panel

a. Click on the Apple menu to highlight Control Panels and select Modem.

Figure 3. Modem control panel

b. When the Modem control panel (Figure 3) opens, select the following:

Connect via: select the location of your modem (modem port, printer port, or internal)
Modem: select your modem type from the pull down list
Sound: On
Dialing: Tone (or Pulse if you have a rotary phone)
Ignore dial tone: leave this box blank

c. Close the Modem control panel by clicking in the box in the upper left corner.

Step 2: Configure your TCP/IP control panel

a. Click on the Apple menu to highlight Control Panels and select TCP/IP.

b. When the TCP/IP control panel (Figure 4) opens, go to the drop down Edit menu at the top of the screen and select User Mode.

c. When the User Mode dialog box opens, select Advanced.

d. Click OK to return to the TCP/IP control panel and choose the following settings:

Connect via: choose PPP
Configure: choose Using PPP Server
Name server address: type 150.176.12.50 on the first line, press return, and type 128.227.128.24 on the second line
Starting domain name: firn.edu
Additional Search domains: firn.edu


Figure 4. TCP/IP control panel

e. Click Options. When the TCP/IP Options dialog box (Figure 5) opens, select the following:

Select Active
Check Load only when needed


Figure 5. TCP/IP Options

f. Click OK, closing the Option box.

g. Close the TCP/IP control panel by clicking in the top left corner.

h. When prompted to save the configuration, click Save.

Step 3: Configure your PPP control panel


a. Click on the Apple menu to highlight Control Panels and select PPP.


Figure 6. PPP control panel

b. When the PPP control panel (Figure 6) opens, choose the following settings:

Connect via: Modem
Select Guest
Number: enter your local FIRN dial-up number. (If you will be disabling call waiting or need to dial a 9 to access an outside line, include the numbers on this line and separate the commands with a comma. For example: *70,488-0650 or 9,488-0650)

c. Click the Options button at the bottom of the PPP control panel.

d. When the Options dialog box opens, click on the Redialing tab (Figure 7) at the top of the box and select the following settings:

Redial: main number only
Redial: 50 times
Time between retries: 5 seconds


Figure 7. Redialing tab

e. Click on the Connection tab (Figure 8) and select the following settings:

Check Use verbose logging
Check Flash icon in menu bar while connected


Figure 8. Connection tab

f. Click on the Protocol tab (Figure 9) and select the following settings:

Check Allow error correction and compression in modem.
Check Use TCP header compression.
Check Connect to a command-line host:
Check Use terminal window.

g. Click OK to close the Options window and then close the PPP control panel by clicking the close box in the top left corner.

h. When prompted to save the changes, click Save.


Figure 9. Protocol tab

Step 4: Make the FIRN PPP connection active

a. Click on the Apple menu to highlight Control Panels and select PPP.

b. When the PPP control panel opens, select Configurations from the File menu at the top of the screen.

c. When the Configurations dialog box opens, highlight the FIRN PPP configuration you just created and click the Make Active button.

d. Close the PPP control panel and restart your computer.

Step 5: Connecting to FIRN

Once you have done the one-time setup of your computer, the following steps are all you will have to do whenever you wish to connect to FIRN.

a. Click on the Apple menu to highlight the Control Panels and select PPP. A screen, similar to the one in Figure 10, displays.



Figure 10. PPP control panel

 

b. Click Connect on the PPP control panel. The modem will connect to FIRN.

c. A terminal window similar to the one in Figure 11, will display a welcome message. (Note: If there is no text in the window, you are probably connecting to an older 28.8 FIRN dial-up number. Please turn to page 70 for further instructions.)

d. At the Enter username prompt, enter your FIRN profile account number and press Return.

e. At the Enter user password prompt, enter your password and press Return. (Note: Your password will not display and the cursor will not move as you type your password.)


 

Figure 11. Terminal window

f. You will receive a message that your password authentication has succeeded. You are now connected to the FIRN network.

g. Launch your browser, email application, or any other PPP application you would like to use.

h. Enjoy your FIRN connection!

i. When you are finished, quit the PPP applications you launched.

j. Click the Disconnect button in the PPP control panel. When Disconnect changes to Connect, you have hung up the modem and cleared the PPP connection to FIRN.

k. Quit PPP by clicking the close box in the upper left corner of the control panel.

|| Contents || Telecommunications in the Classroom || Florida Information Resource Network || Hardware ||
|| Configuring your Computer || PPP email Applications || Implementation || Appendices ||

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