Re: ITP: laptop-netconf -- a network detection and configuration program

[andrew@pimlott.ne.mediaone.net (Andrew Pimlott)]

On Fri, Apr 13, 2001 at 11:50:06AM +0100, Matt Kern wrote:
> laptop-netconf is a useful little program inspired by divine.  It detects
> machines on the local network and configures the laptop appropriately.

This isn't directly related, but I started using the ISC dhcp client
(dhcp-client package), and noticed that it has features in this
area.  For example, if it doesn't get a response from the DHCP
server, it will look at its history of recent leases that have not
expired and ping the gateways of those leases.  If it gets a
response, it acts as if the lease for that gateway were renewed.
Even better, it has a concept of "static leases", which you can
configure directly, which basically specify network configurations
to try when no DHCP server is found.  

This made me think two things:

1.  Debian should move towards using the ISC dhcp client by default.
    It has much better features than pump.  I assume there is some
    reason we are not recommending it now?

2.  Time would be best spent integrating all of the little network
    autoconfig tools into one tool.  Probably, that tool should be
    the ISC dhcp client.

Andrew