[RP-PPPoE] What is the real role of rp-pppoe

[Lucas Clemente Vella]

I was trying to give pppoe support to a Linux-based embedded system.
At first I though I would need to cross-compile and install at least
two software packages: pppd and rp-pppoe. Then I found this wiki page
showing that it is possible to make a pppoe connection with pppd only:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/PPPoE_Setup_with_pppd

Since it is somewhat cumbersome to cross-compile and install software
in the resource-limited ARM computer, specially if it has lots of
shell scripts to be installed through the filesystem and little
support to cross-compiling, as it seems to be the case of rp-pppoe, I
tried the solution that requires pppd only.

It worked and it is possible to connect to the Internet via an ADSL
service provider. The problem is that the connection suffers from
severe instability problems, and sometimes is lost with no apparent
reason. Hoping I can solve these problems, want to know: what is the
real role of rp-pppoe in setting a pppoe connection? Besides the shell
scripts, there is a binary rp-pppoe in the distribution, what it does
that pppd can't do and what is it relation with pppd?

-- 
Lucas Clemente Vella
lvella at gmail.com