Re: can we (fully) fix/integrate NetworkManager (preferred) or release-goal its decommissioning
2012/8/28 Ben Hutchings wrote:
>> It should not be that hard to fit them all.
>>
>> All connections I can think of belong to one of two categories:
>> 1. Permanent connections. Those are "setup-and-forget" connections.
>> Typical for servers and wired desktops. Can be managed with ifupdown.
>> 2. Temporary connections. Those are "use-once-and-forget" connections
>> (e.g. wifi in airport/hotel). Typical for mobile/moveable devices.
>> They're different from #1 because they should not be stored in configs.
> [...]
>
> I don't think there is this hard line between 'permanent' and
> 'temporary' connections.
It depends on what one calls "permanent".
It was just about whether it's possible to write a tool to please
everybody. And I was thinking how to do that. I suggested to split
all connections into two categories: "permanent" (stored in confis,
i.e. "setup-and-forget") and "temporary" (not stored in configs, i.e.
"use-once-and-forget"). Maybe I chose ambiguous names for those
categories, feel free to suggest any better. :)
There're also two interface types: CLI and GUI.
So that would be 4 ways to make a connection:
1.a. Permanent-CLI (ifupdown or a shell-script)
1.b. Permanent-GUI (NetworkManager)
2.a. Temporary-CLI (shell)
2.b. Temporary-GUI (NetworkManager)
None of tools support all 4 points good enough _yet_, that's why none
of them suits everybody. What I was trying to say is that it's still
possible to extend any of them to "fit them all", somebody just need
to extend it to support all 4 kinds.
Such tool, if existed, should please everybody. :)
> Hotel wifi certainly isn't 'use-once-and-forget'. I should be able to
> configure it when I arrive and have it remembered as long as I stay.
It does not matter how often you use it. It's just whether you store
it in configs (that's what I called "permanent") or not ("temporary").
> There are several other categories of dynamic connections, including:
> 3. VPN tunnels (server end)
> 4. Connections to a VM
>
> Most likely these should not be managed by either ifupdown or NM.
Not currently, right. But if someone could extend some of them to
support these, why not? Imagine a GUI/TUI (winetricks-like) front-end
for ifupdown, that allows you to configure VPN with a few simple
dialogs and store basic configs in /etc. :) If only someone wrote it...
--
Serge
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