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I assume that you have EasyMiNT >= 1.4 including the NET packet installed.
If you have an older EasyMiNT installed, I strongly recommend to update all packets. Never mix old and new packets!
If using a network interface card the driver has to be copied to boot:/MINT folder, as mentioned before. Otherwise your network card cannot be accessed. Additionally you must have put sockdev.xdd (for freeMiNT versions >= 1.16 inet4.xdd) and slip.xif in there.
If you want to use nfs then you have to copy nfs.xfs in there, too.
You plan to connect via serial interface? Then you have to put the corresponding driver for the serial interface (f.ex. mfp.xdd) into the MINT folder as well.
By the way: the drivers' file extensions stand for:

• XDD - eXtended Device Driver
• XIF - eXtended InterFace
• XFS - eXtended FileSytem

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Setting up your network interface card is quite simple using EasyMiNT. Newer versions of EasyMiNT even allow for configuring your network card. So this paragraph is ment for those people who skipped this step or who use an older version of EasyMiNT. Admittedly this paragraph is helpful if you have to reconfigure your network card. All you have to do is to edit one file, namely

            /etc/sysconfig/config.if
                        

It looks like this:

      #
      # [ this file must follow the unix convention - save with no CR !!! ]
      #
      # static interface configuration goes here
      #
      # syntax:
      # <interface> <ipaddr> <network> <netmask> <broadaddr>
      #
      # example: ne0 192.168.0.10 192.168.0.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.0.255
      #          this setup interface ne0 with IP 192.168.0.10
      #
      ne0 192.168.1.2 192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.1.255

                        

This example shows the configuration for the network interface ne0. The IP address of the computer is 192.168.1.2 in the network 192.168.1
You can adopt the other entries as given in the example.
The network interface name is not necessarily ne0, it depends on your network interface card's driver. You should be able to find it in the driver's documentation.

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The pppd requires the drivers sockdev.xdd and slip.xif in the folder boot:/MINT. Additionally you should have connected both computers with the zero-modem cable. If you want to solder this cable by yourself, have a look at this.
Configuration of pppd is not that difficult with EasyMiNT, all things that are needed can be found in the file

            /etc/sysconfig/ppp.config
                        

It looks like this:

      #
      # [ this file must follow the unix convention - save with no CR !!! ]
      #
      # pppd configuration goes here for serial connection between two machines
      #
      # syntax:
      # <serial device> <speed> <local> <remote> <netmask>
      #
      # example: /dev/ttyS0 115200 192.168.1.1 192.168.1.2 255.255.255.0
      #          this setup pppd with IP 192.168.1.1 for local machine and
      #          192.168.1.2 for remote on ttyS0 with 115200 serial speed
                        

If you have, for example, connected an Atari ST with the IP 192.168.1.1 via Modem1 plug with a linux PC with the IP 192.168.1.2 (by using your zero-modem cable of course), then the configuration line should be like this:

            /dev/ttyS0 19200 192.168.1.1 192.168.1.2 255.255.255.0
            

19200 is the speed of the STs serial interface.
To let the connection be opened automatically at boot time, you simply write 'pppd' into the file

            /etc/sysconfig/net.services
                        

Like this:

      #
      # [ this file must follow the unix convention - save with no CR !!! ]
      #
      # the default network services that are started on every system boot
      # after the network is setted up
      # it's interpreted as /etc/rc.d/init.d/<name> start
      #
      pppd
                        

On sides of the linux PC you either start the pppd manually or by executing the corresponding init.d scripts (see linux documentation). To start pppd manually type

            bash # pppd /dev/ttyS0 19200 crtscts defaultroute noauth 192.168.1.2:192.168.1.1 netmask 255.255.255.0
                        

if the zero-modem cable has been attached to COM1.
Of course you can start pppd on sides of the Atari manually as well. But keep in mind to exchange the IP addresses. The IP before the colon is the local one, the IP after the colon is the one of the other computer.
Additionally remember to set equal speeds for the serial interfaces on the two connected computers!

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Only connecting to the internet via (f.ex.) a router makes it necessary to specify a gateway/to configure a default route. You might wonder what a router is. A router is a "device" that allows for one computer or for a set of computers to connect to the internet or to mediate between different networks. If you want to use DSL with your Atari then using a router is the only way at the moment. Here a small graphic:


The graphic shows two different networks and a DSL modem. The router allows for any computer of the two networks (192.168.1 and 192.168.2) to connect to the internet via DSL. At the same time it makes it possible for computers from the network 192.168.1 to access computers from the network 192.168.2 and vice versa.
There are so called hardware router. These are small boxes with plugs for the computers and the DSL modem. Usually they can be configured through web browsers, so that one can use them with Ataris. Another type of routers can be set up on top of old unused PCs. Have a look at fli4l for setting up such (linux-) routers.
Configuring the gateway is very simple as well if you are using EasyMiNT. Just edit the file

            /etc/sysconfig/defaultroute
                        

Fill in the network interface and the IP address of the router, f.ex.:

            ne0 192.168.1.1
                        

This makes all network requests being directed to the router. The router forewards them to the correct target. If you type the IP 234.33.12.298 in the browsers URL field then a request is sent to the IP 192.168.1.1 (i.e. the router), which in turn initiates further steps. (In this case the address is "forwarded to the DSL modem").
Additionally it is possible to install a so called firewall on the router. Its purpose is to shield your own network against bad boys trying to gain access or to attack from the internet.

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The domain name or simply the domain is the readable representation of the network we belong to. An internal network, which we want to set up, may have any fancy name, f.ex. 'phantasy.de'. Write this name into the file

            /etc/syconfig/domainname
                        

on any (MiNT) client machine. Thereby you can access the single computers by this name later on.

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To prevent using IP addresses, which have no meaning to us, we assign names to any of our computers. The name has to be written to the file

            /etc/sysconfig/hostname
                        

on any of our client machines. The name may be arbitrary. To make all the other computer's names known to each single computer, you should write a list of all these names in the network to the file

            /etc/hosts
                        

Assuming there are two computers. Computer 1 has the name 'Atari' and the IP 192.168.1.1. Computer 2 has the name 'Linux' and the IP 192.168.1.2. Both belong to the domain 'network.de'. Then the file

            /etc/hosts
                        

should look like this:

              192.168.1.1 Atari.network.de    Atari
              192.168.1.2 Linux.network.de    Linux
                        

By the way: there is already an entry in this file: 127.0.0.1, the so called localhost. This allows for issuing requests to yourself by using this IP address. You could, for example, test an FTP server installed on your computer without accessing it from another computer, simply by connecting "to yourself." In bash you type:

            bash # ftp localhost
                        

So do not remove this configuration line.
With the settings being done up til now, we can address the computers by their names. If you want, for example, access an FTP server running on the Linux PC from the Atari, then simply connect to 'ftp://Linux.network.de' with your Atari FTP client, and that's it. (To make this work some additional requirements have to be fulfilled (you need the FTP server...), more on this later).

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You have to give a name server (DNS = Domain Name Server) to allow for correct forwarding of requests to the internet. A name server has the function to "translate" the textual addresses, f.ex. entered in the browsers url field, like 'www.something.com' into IP addresses of the corresponding servers. Configuring the name server is done in the file

            /etc/resolv.conf
                        

The first line has to show the domain (see domain name), the following lines are for the name servers, which can be multiple. According to the example from above the file would look like this:

            domain network.de
            nameserver 194.25.2.129
                        

BTW: The example name server address is the (german) T-Online name server.

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