Features/NetworkManagerSystemConnections

Network Manager System Connections

Summary

Add full support for system-wide connections to NetworkManager.

Owner

• Name: Dan Williams
• email: dcbw@redhat.com

Current status

• Targeted release: Fedora 11
• Last updated: 2009-04-01
• Percentage of completion: 75%

Detailed Description

NetworkManager has been able to read information about system-wide network connections from /etc/sysconfig for a while. This feature is about enabling full read-write support for system connections. The ability to create or modify new system connections will be controlled by PolicyKit policies.

Initially, only wired/wireless connections will be supported. Later on, vpn connections will follow.

For connections that require secrets, those will be stored in .keys files in /etc/sysconfig.

Benefit to Fedora

Makes NetworkManager a fully featured replacement for the aging system-config-network tool (for 90% of all use cases, there's still some exotic stuff left, like bridging and bonding).

Scope

The feature requires changes in NetworkManager and nm-applet. To enable the same functionality in other frontend, they will need changes as well.

Part of this feature is defining suitable keys for network-related /etc/sysconfig files to hold all the information that NetworkManager has about a connection.

How To Test

1. Connect to a network in your session
2. Open the connection editor
3. Check the "available to all users" checkbox (and the "connect automatically" one)
4. Verify that the connection information is moved from your gconf database to /etc/sysconfig
5. Reboot, and note that the connection is available before login
6. Login, edit the connection again, and uncheck "available to all users"
7. Verify that the connection information is moved back into your gconf database

During all these steps, observe that the correct PolicyKit policy checks are done. Modify the relevant policies and verify that nm-applet behaves accordingly. Repeat with different connection types.

User Experience

Users will be able to use NetworkManager with system-wide connections and be happy. Longer-term, we will be able to remove system-config-network from the default install, and shrink the administration menu, which helps users too.

Dependencies

None

Contingency Plan

Keep system connections read-only in NetworkManager. system-config-network is still available in any case.

Documentation

Not at this point. Documentation that will be needed at some point includes documentation of the new /etc/sysconfig keys.

Release Notes

NetworkManager can now create and edit system-wide network connections in /etc/sysconfig.

Comments and Discussion

• See Talk:Features/NetworkManagerSystemConnections