PPTPCTRL(8)

📦 version 1.5.0, in arch rolling, debian bookworm, debian trixie, fedora 43, fedora 44, nixos 26.05, nixpkgs unstable, ubuntu jammy

💅 PPTPCTRL — the pptpctrl(8) page, bestie edition ✨

okay so picture this: it's the System Manager's Manual, and the star of the show is pptpctrl — the PPTP control connection manager. she's not the main character you call directly (usually), she's the backstage icon making the whole tunnel situation work. let's get into it 🫶

🌸 NAME 🌸

pptpctrl — PPTP control connection manager. that's it, that's the job. she manages the control connection. periodt. 👑

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

pptpctrl pptp-debug-flag no-ipparam-flag ppp-options-value ppp-speed-
value ppp-local-ip-value ppp-remote-ip-value [ pptp-call-id ] [ ppp-
binary ] [ pptp-logwtmp ]

like… look at that argument list. it's giving "designed for a daemon, not for you" energy and honestly? respect. 💀

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

So. pptpctrl is usually run by pptpd(8) — like, that's her whole thing, she gets summoned by the daemon. BUT (and this is the fun part) you can also run her from inetd(8) if you don't need some of the fancy pptpd(8) features. specifically, if you're fine without the IP pool management and the inbuilt TCP wrappers. lowkey freeing, highkey niche. 🌈

💖 OPTIONS 💖

ngl bestie, these options are unconventional — and that's on purpose. they're built for pptpd(8) to hand over, not for a human to type by hand. so listen up:

⚠️ The option order is critical. like, critical critical. do not shuffle. do not vibe-rearrange. the order is the whole personality.

here's the rules of the game:

  • Flag options are just a 0 or a 1 — and they must be present. no skipping, no ghosting.
  • Value options are either a 0 on its own, or a 1 followed by the value. so it's either the 0, or both the 1 and the value. those are your only two valid looks.
  • The remaining options are optional — but if you use them, they must appear in the defined order. no cap.

The options are as follows:

  • pptp-debug-flag — if set to 1, it turns on debug messages to syslog from pptpctrl. and just so we're clear: this does not touch the PPP debug option's setting. two separate situations, bestie, don't mix them up. 🙈
  • no-ipparam-flag — if set, pptpctrl will not pass the client's IP address over to pppd(8) via the ipparam option. wanna know more? go peek at the noipparam option in pptpd.conf(5). 📖
  • ppp-options-value — the file to use for PPP options. see the file option in pppd(8). simple, clean, iconic.
  • ppp-speed-value — the value for the speed option handed to pppd(8). ⚠️ heads up: on Linux, this parameter is ineffective. she simply does nothing there. tragic but true.
  • ppp-local-ip-value — if set, this is the IP address pppd(8) should use for the network interface on the server side. if it's not set, pppd(8) figures it out from the options — and usually that means it lands on the ethernet address of the server. 🖥️
  • ppp-remote-ip-value — if set, this is the IP address pppd(8) should use for the network interface on the client side. if it's not set, pppd(8) works it out from the options — usually the ethernet address of the client, or an address given in chap-secrets. 🚨 and listen: this one must be set if ppp-local-ip-value is set. package deal. no solo missions.
  • pptp-call-id — if present, it specifies the call identification for the PPTP session. if you omit it, the call identification is zero. normally this ID gets allocated by pptpd(8) and passed on down to pptpctrl. so it's usually not your problem, bestie. 💅
  • ppp-binary — if present, this is the path to the PPP binary to use. if omitted, the default value is used. default queen behavior. ✨
  • pptp-logwtmp — if present, specifies whether wtmp(5) should be updated as users connect and disconnect. 🎀

🎀 FILES 🎀

  • none.

literally nothing. empty. she's a minimalist. slay. 💜

👑 AUTHORS 👑

Poptop is written by Matthew Ramsay <matthewr@moreton.com.au>, David Luyer <luyer@ucs.uwa.edu.au>, Kevin Thayer <tmk@netmagic.net>, Peter Galbavy <Peter.Galbavy@knowledge.com> and others. 🌟

Development has been moved to SourceForge and worked on by Richard de Vroede <r.devroede@linvision.com> since June 26, 2002. the way that date is just… sitting there. a whole era. 🕰️

Copyright © 1999 Matthew Ramsay and others.

Poptop is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option) any later version.

Poptop is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. 🫠

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with Poptop; see the file COPYING. If not, write to the Free Software Foundation, 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.

🌈 AVAILABILITY 🌈

The most recent version of Poptop is available for download from SourceForge at http://sourceforge.net/projects/poptop. go get her. 🛍️

💀 SEE ALSO 💀

the whole friend group, fr fr. iykyk. 🦋

and that's the page, babe! this beauty's dated 28 April 2004, lives under the PPTPCTRL(8) name, and she ate. 💅✨ mwah. 🫶🍓

📦 where this page comes from