Connecting Windows CE with Linux

This page provides some information, about how to connect a Windows CE device with a Linux, using the Remote Networking. The Remote Networking of Windows CE has a strange behavior. Every time that we are trying to make a connection from Windows CE, WinCE sends the word CLIENT and wait for the response CLIENTSERVER (with out any CR at the end). This is exactly what the following scripts do.

In Linux

To configure your linux to connect with the WinCE, you should first install the pppd, then create the file /etc/ppp/options.ce 
/dev/ttyS1 115200
:x.x.x.x
asyncmap 0
lock
local
crtscts
connect "chat 'CLIENT' 'CLIENTSERVER\\c'"
proxyarp
noauth
-detach
where, x.x.x.x is the IP number you want to give to the Windows CE and ttyS1 is the serial port that you are using.

You can start the connection from Linux with the command (as root):
pppd file /etc/ppp/options.ce
or you can create a small script like the following /usr/local/bin/pppce 

while true
do
        pppd file /etc/ppp/options.ce
done
don't forget to chmod +x /usr/local/bin/pppce. This script waits until a PDA is connected to the serial port and loops for ever. You can run it, in the background at boot time, by adding at the end of the initialisation file /etc/rc.d/rc.local the following lines. This file exists in the RedHat version, in slackware, you should look in the /etc/rc.d directory to find the appropriate user defined initialisation file. 
echo "Starting PPP for Windows-CE at ttyS1"
/usr/local/bin/pppce &

In the PDA

  1. Lunch the Remote Networking
    Remote Networking
  2. Double Click on the Make New Connection icon
    Remote Networking
  3. Type in the name you like and chose Direct Connection
    Remote Networking
  4. Select the Serial Cable on COM1: and press Configure
    Remote Networking
  5. Click on the Manual Dial set the Baud Rate to be the same as in the linux script (Here I'm using the maximum 115200, and it works OK). Set the Flow Control to Hardware
    Remote Networking
  6. Now you have to configure the TCP/IP settings. Set the Server-assigned IP address, so to let the pppd assign the IP address. Leave unmarked the Use Slip. Mark the User software compression and the Use IP header compression. Click on the Name Servers
    Remote Networking
  7. Even though you can set the DNS from the pppd script, in my case it was producing a lot of problems. I think it is safer to declare the DNS here. Even though you can try also the other possibility.
    Remote Networking
     

    Last updated: Tue Nov 2 16:48:26 CET 1999