Novatel u727 on Debian Etch

I previously blogged on getting this card working on Ubuntu but obviously nobody tried my instructions because it wouldn't have worked. The bizarre thing is that in order to get the USB serial devices to show up, you have to first mount the "Novatel CD" device that gets detected, unmount it, and then eject it. This only has to be done once after the device is powered up ( meaning if you unplug it) so here is what I added to the /etc/rc.local an old Optiplex 100 running Etch so things get automatically setup.

if mount /dev/sr0 -t iso9660 /mnt
then
       echo "Found Novatel u727"
       sleep 3
       umount /dev/sr0
       eject /dev/sr0
       sleep 10
       pppd call sprint
fi

The only thing left is to add an iptables commnad to masquerade everything out the ppp0 interface and I have my backup EVDO gateway. Well and change the default route on a box or two -- or get VRRP working.

So the next time RCN hits the fan (must have been the weather) I'll power up this box and plugin the EVDO adapter and I'll be good to go.