Much of today's digital world revolves around the use of the Internet. Establishing a network connection may be required for some of your applications to work, and will at least enhance the capabilities of several others. Oftentimes, Fedora can automatically configure your network connections for you; this page explores different types of network interfaces, describes how to examine your network status, and explains how to make manual adjustments to network settings.
Network Interfaces
Your computer may support many different network interfaces. Commonly used interfaces include ethernet, wireless LAN, and modem connections. This section provides a short background on each and instructions on how to configure each connection with the Network Manager GUI as well as the command line interface.
Ethernet
Ethernet connections are the most common way to connect a computer to a local area network (LAN) over a physical medium. Ethernet cables are typically similar in appearance to phone cords, but are slightly thicker and include 8 pins. Almost every modern consumer computer includes an ethernet port, with the notable exception of many netbooks and ultraportable laptops.
Wireless LAN
Wireless connections are included in most modern laptops, as well as several mobile devices and some desktop computers.
GNOME
To launch the Network Configuration Tool in GNOME, navigate to the System > Administration > Network menu entry. When working as a regular user the application prompts for the root password.
KDE
To launch the Network Configuration Tool in KDE, navigate to the KMenu > Applications > System > Network menu entry. When working as a regular user the application prompts for the root password.
Configuring PPPoE
PPPoE connections are primarily used for xDSL connections. PPPoE stands for PPP over Ethernet.
In the main screen, click the New Button and then choose XDSL Configuration from the left hand column, clicking the Next button to proceed.
In the following screen, enter the name of the xDSL provider, and the username and password belonging to this account. When more than one Ethernet device is present on the system, ensure the correct device is selected from the drop down menu labeled Ethernet device. Click Next to proceed.
To configure this network connection to start when the system boots, click the appropriate entry in the main dialog, and then click the Edit button. Ensure that the Active device when computer starts box is ticked. To learn how to manually activate this connection see the Network Manager section.
DHCP Connection
DHCP connections are common when using cable-modems, LANs, and most SOHO broadband providers.
Fedora configures network interfaces to use DHCP by default. Follow these directions if DHCP was deactivated at some point.
To enable DHCP for a particular network interface, launch Network Manager, select the appropriate entry for the interface and click Edit. Ensure that the Automatically obtain IP address settings with is selected and set to DHCP.
Static IP Address
To configure a network interface for a static IP address, click on the network interface in the main dialog, and then click the Edit button. Next ensure that Statically IP addresses is marked, filling in the appropriate details in the Manual IP Address section.
For a static IP address, it is also necessary to fill in the details under the DNS tab of the main interface.
Network Manager
If Network Manager is not enabled in Fedora, it can be enabled by going to System > Administration > Services and and checking Network Manager.
The programs simplify the process of connecting your laptop or desktop to the network. When you have enabled the programs you should see the nm-applet icon which looks like the one below.
File:Docs Drafts DesktopUserGuide ConfiguringInternet nm-applet.png
When it has been enabled you can right click on the icon and enable wireless or wired networks. Enabling both does not affect how Network Manager operates.
If you have a wireless network and it is supported by Fedora left clicking on the icon and selecting Connect to other network and putting the details of your connection will cause Network Manager to use that information to connect to the network.
Wireless
Fedora includes some wireless firmware and methods to install closed source firmware. Network Manager in GNOME and KNetwork Manager in KDE are made to automatically function with the drivers that you installed in Fedora.
Fedora has available from the repositories the following wireless drivers:
| Firmware Name | Firmware Description |
|---|---|
| ipw2100-firmware | Intel IPW2100 |
| iwl3945-firmware | Intel IPW3945 |
| iwl4965-firmware | Intel IPW4965 |
| b43 | Broadcom PCI/Cardbus |
| b43legacy | Broadcom PCI/Cardbus |
| adm8211 | Admtek PCI/Cardbus |
| p54 | Prism54 USB and PCI/Cardbus |
| zd1211rw | Zydas USB |
| rtl8180 | Realtek PCI/Cardbus |
| rtl8187 | Realtek USB |
| rt2x00 | Ralink USB and PCI/Cardbus |
| ath5k | Atheros PCI/Cardbus |
| ipw2200 | Intel IPW2200 |
| orinoco/hostap | Prism2 |
If you need any of the following firmware install the software using Pirut by going to Applications > Add/Remove Software or if you require the iwl3945 firmware for example.
su -c 'yum install iwl3945'
If the software doesn't show up you can search for the software by going to the search tab in Pirut or:
su -c 'yum search orinoco'
KDE Network Manager
Network Manager is not enabled by default in Fedora, it is installed by default however. Enabling Network Manager is a simple process of going to KMenu > Applications > System > Services and checking Network Manager and Network Manager Dispatcher.
The programs simplify the process of connecting your laptop or desktop to the network. When you have enabled the programs you should see the nm-applet icon which looks like the one below in your taskbar.
File:Docs Drafts DesktopUserGuide ConfiguringInternet nm-applet.png
When it has been enabled you can right click on the icon and enable wireless or wired networks. Enabling both does not affect how Network Manager operates.
If you have a wireless network and it is supported by Fedora left clicking on the icon and selecting Connect to other network and putting the details of your connection will cause Network Manager to use that information to connect to the network.
Remote Desktop
Fedora has remote desktop as part of the default install.
| Desktop | Program Icon | Menu location |
|---|---|---|
| Gnome | File:Docs Drafts DesktopUserGuide ConfiguringInternet gnome-remote-desktop.png | System > Preferences > Internet and Network |
| KDE |  |
KMenu > Applications > Settings |
Enabling Desktop Sharing is as simple as ticking the Allow other users to view your desktop. If you would like other people to control your desktop you can tick the appropriate setting.
| Previous Page - Using Media | Table of Contents | Next Page - Accessing the Web |