Kernel-Mode PPPOE w/ rp-pppoe

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone had advice on how to optimize a kernel mode 
pppoe connection using: Linux 2.4.20-8 i686 athlon i386 GNU/Linux, and 
ppp 2.4.2, roaring penguin 3.5.1. My motherboard's ethernet adapter, 
eth0, is managed by NVIDIA driver nvnet.o, supplied directly on their 
website, and I connect my linux box via regular ethernet cable to a 
Westell Dual Connect dsl modem.

I compiled and installed roaring penguin's software w/ support for 
kernel mode pppoe, yet am receiving (qualitatively speaking) a sluggish 
response from my computer (jerky mouse, delayed response in everything) 
only when data is transferred, as if kernel mode isn't even being 
implemented (as far as I can tell ... I don't know how to analyze my 
connection to verify this for sure). I switched my settings to use the 
kernel plugin and synchronous mode in /etc/ppp/pppoe.conf (below), but 
noticed little difference in overall performance. The connection itself 
is fairly fast. ...
1) There is supposed to be a noticeable difference between the two, right?
2) I would appreciate any advice from anyone on improving computer 
performance (and not necessarily connection performance) under pppoe for 
an adsl connection, kernel mode or not ...
3) Also would appreciate suggestions on how to analyze my connection and 
compare kernel mode to loaded ppp module.

As you can probably tell, I'm relatively new to this. A few pieces of 
information follow, but please let me know if there's more crucial 
information that you will need. Thanks!

Eric Wendel

I compiled these options into my 2.4.20-8 kernel:
CONFIG_PPP=y
CONFIG_PPP_ASYNC=y
CONFIG_PPP_SYNC_TTY=y
CONFIG_PPP_DEFLATE=y
CONFIG_PPP_BSDCOMP=y
CONFIG_PPPOE=y
CONFIG_N_HDLC=y 

Contents of /etc/ppp/pppoe.conf:
#***********************************************************************
# pppoe.conf
# LIC: GPL
# $Id: pppoe.conf,v 1.10 2002/04/09 17:28:38 dfs Exp $
#***********************************************************************

# When you configure a variable, DO NOT leave spaces around the "=" sign.

# Ethernet card connected to ADSL modem
ETH=eth1

# ADSL user name.  You may have to supply "@provider.com"  Sympatico
# users in Canada do need to include "@sympatico.ca"
# Sympatico uses PAP authentication.  Make sure /etc/ppp/pap-secrets
# contains the right username/password combination.
# For Magma, use [email protected]
[email protected]

# Bring link up on demand?  Default is to leave link up all the time.
# If you want the link to come up on demand, set DEMAND to a number 
indicating
# the idle time after which the link is brought down.
DEMAND=no
#DEMAND=300

# DNS type: SERVER=obtain from server; SPECIFY=use DNS1 and DNS2;
# NOCHANGE=do not adjust.
DNSTYPE=SERVER

# Obtain DNS server addresses from the peer (recent versions of pppd only)
# In old config files, this used to be called USEPEERDNS.  Changed to
# PEERDNS for better Red Hat compatibility
PEERDNS=yes

DNS1=
DNS2=

# Make the PPPoE connection your default route.  Set to
# DEFAULTROUTE=no if you don't want this.
DEFAULTROUTE=yes

### ONLY TOUCH THE FOLLOWING SETTINGS IF YOU'RE AN EXPERT

# How long adsl-start waits for a new PPP interface to appear before
# concluding something went wrong.  If you use 0, then adsl-start
# exits immediately with a successful status and does not wait for the
# link to come up.  Time is in seconds.
#
# WARNING WARNING WARNING:
#
# If you are using rp-pppoe on a physically-inaccessible host, set
# CONNECT_TIMEOUT to 0.  This makes SURE that the machine keeps trying
# to connect forever after adsl-start is called.  Otherwise, it will
# give out after CONNECT_TIMEOUT seconds and will not attempt to
# connect again, making it impossible to reach.
CONNECT_TIMEOUT=30

# How often in seconds adsl-start polls to check if link is up
CONNECT_POLL=2

# Specific desired AC Name
ACNAME=

# Specific desired service name
SERVICENAME=

# Character to echo at each poll.  Use PING="" if you don't want
# anything echoed
PING="."

# File where the adsl-connect script writes its process-ID.
# Three files are actually used:
#   $PIDFILE       contains PID of adsl-connect script
#   $PIDFILE.pppoe contains PID of pppoe process
#   $PIDFILE.pppd  contains PID of pppd process
CF_BASE=`basename $CONFIG`
PIDFILE="/var/run/$CF_BASE-adsl.pid"

# Do you want to use synchronous PPP?  "yes" or "no".  "yes" is much
# easier on CPU usage, but may not work for you.  It is safer to use
# "no", but you may want to experiment with "yes".  "yes" is generally
# safe on Linux machines with the n_hdlc line discipline; unsafe on others.
SYNCHRONOUS=yes

# Do you want to clamp the MSS?  Here's how to decide:
# - If you have only a SINGLE computer connected to the ADSL modem, choose
#   "no".
# - If you have a computer acting as a gateway for a LAN, choose "1412".
#   The setting of 1412 is safe for either setup, but uses slightly more
#   CPU power.
CLAMPMSS=1412
#CLAMPMSS=no

# LCP echo interval and failure count.
LCP_INTERVAL=20
LCP_FAILURE=3

# PPPOE_TIMEOUT should be about 4*LCP_INTERVAL
PPPOE_TIMEOUT=80

# Firewalling: One of NONE, STANDALONE or MASQUERADE
FIREWALL=NONE

# Linux kernel-mode plugin for pppd.  If you want to try the kernel-mode
# plugin, use LINUX_PLUGIN=/etc/ppp/plugins/rp-pppoe.so
LINUX_PLUGIN=/etc/ppp/plugins/rp-pppoe.so

# Any extra arguments to pass to pppoe.  Normally, use a blank string
# like this:
PPPOE_EXTRA=""

# Rumour has it that "Citizen's Communications" with a 3Com
# HomeConnect ADSL Modem DualLink requires these extra options:
# PPPOE_EXTRA="-f 3c12:3c13 -S ISP"

# Any extra arguments to pass to pppd.  Normally, use a blank string
# like this:
PPPD_EXTRA=""


########## DON'T CHANGE BELOW UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING
# If you wish to COMPLETELY overrride the pppd invocation:
# Example:
# OVERRIDE_PPPD_COMMAND="pppd call dsl"

# If you want adsl-connect to exit when connection drops:
# RETRY_ON_FAILURE=no