Network Manager - fc4 (0.5.1)

[Matthew Saltzman]

On Sat, 26 Nov 2005, Mail List wrote:

>
>   Having a spot of trouble with this. I'd like to set up 4 profiles - home,
> work, work2 and roam (open). Wired preferred to wireless if available (which
> is the default I believe).
>
>   I got it running - but  not doing anything useful - as far as connecting to
> WEP based AP anyway for single location which was my start point. It works
> brialliantly if done by hand (using 128 bit hex keys) w/o NM running- w nm it
> fails to authenticate. With ot without the keys file was already in place
> in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts.

So you've started the NetworkManager service, but did you start nm-applet?

>
>   I'd suggest  folks may want to take a good look at IBM access connections
> on windows (if you have access to an IBM laptop) - just for an example of a
> fairly decent network management tool from a functional perspective.

Comparing NM to Access Connections rather misses the point.  AC is a 
profile-based connection manager with a pretty good scan facility.  NM is 
(intended to be) a fully automatic connection manager.

NM (with nm-applet running) works like this:

- If there's a wire plugged in, NM will enable the wired interface 
automatically (using DHCP).

- Otherwise, NM will scan the wireless interface and identify all usable 
connections.  You can then pop down the connection list (left-click on the 
icon) and select the WAP you want.  Information about the WAP is stored 
in a subdirectory of ~/.gconf/.  If a key is needed, you will be 
prompted, and the key will be saved on your gnome-keyring.

- If there is a network that you have previously connected to, you will be 
automatically reconnected to it.  If it has a key, you will (once per 
login) be prompted for your keyring password.

Once you have a reportory of SSIDs, connection will occur automatically if 
one is in range.  You can force a connection by popping down the 
connection list and selecting another network.  If you suspend and resume, 
NM rescans and reconnects or connects you to a new network.

It's really quite a nice idea, and it usually works pretty well, though 
there are still some bugs--both in NM and in wireless drivers--that can 
cause some issues.

If you want a profile-based connection manager, try adding a network 
monitor applet to your panel and play with that.  It interfaces to 
system-config-network and handles profiles, but it's not as nice as AC.

-- 
 		Matthew Saltzman

Clemson University Math Sciences
mjs AT clemson DOT edu
http://www.math.clemson.edu/~mjs