Chapter 3. Managing Network Connections Traditionally

Chapter 3. Managing Network Connections Traditionally
	Connectivity Guide

Contents

3.1. ifplug or hotplug Daemon
3.2. SCPM
3.3. KInternet—Tool for User Controlled Devices

In contrast to NetworkManager, traditional network configuration requires you to configure network interfaces and switch between networks when moving. The program ifup is used to activate preconfigured network devices. It means that all network devices must be configured before you can use them.

If you want to use traditional managing with ifup, disable NetworkManager first. To disable NetworkManager during the installation, click Disable NetworkManager in Network Mode on the Network Configuration screen. To disable NetworkManager on an already installed system, follow these steps:

Open YaST.
Choose Network Devices+Network Card.
On the first screen, set Network Setup Method to Traditional Method with ifup.

	Switching to NetworkManager
NetworkManager can use the configuration from the directory `/etc/sysconfig/`. YaST uses this directory to store the network configuration. If you switch your system from traditional configuration with YaST to NetworkManager, NetworkManager adopts configurations from YaST.

After selecting traditional configuration, set up your network devices. To configure your network devices, use YaST. Find the YaST modules for all network devices in the Network Devices. To allow users to control devices, set device activation in YaST to User Controlled. A detailed description of the network configuration with YaST is available in Section “Configuring a Network Connection with YaST” (Chapter 29, Basic Networking, ↑Deployment Guide) and Section “Wireless LAN” (Chapter 28, Wireless Communication, ↑Deployment Guide).

Figure 3.1. Network Devices YaST Module

Configuring Modems

To configure your modem, select the Modem module. Use this module also for GPRS and CDMA modems.

To configure your internal or USB DSL modem, select the DSL module. If you have an external DSL modem with the ethernet connection, simply connect the modem and enter the IP address of your modem in your Web browser. Find information about configuration of your external DSL modem in the manual of your device.

To configure your internal or USB ISDN device, select the ISDN.

Configuring Wired Network Cards

After the Network Card module starts, YaST displays a general network configuration dialog. To configure your network in the traditional way with the YaST, check Traditional Method with ifup.

The upper part of the traditional configuration shows a list with all the network cards available for configuration. Any card properly detected is listed with its name. Configure devices that could not be detected using Add.

Configuring Wireless Cards

To configure a wireless card, use the Network Card module. Some WLAN cards need a firmware image that must be loaded into the card when the driver is initialized. This is the case with Intersil PrismGT, Atmel, and TI ACX100 and ACX111. Easily install the firmware with the YaST Online Update. The firmware for Intel PRO/Wireless cards ships with SUSE Linux and is automatically installed by YaST as soon as a card of this type is detected. More information about this subject is available in the installed system in /usr/share/doc/packages/wireless-tools/README.firmware.

Several techniques are used to control connectivity. All require preconfigured network connections. Users have no right to add, remove, or change them. The most important are:

ifplug or hotplug: ifplug and hotplug do not provide users with any possibility to control the connection. Devices are activated with preconfigured settings automatically when a connection becomes available. For a wired connection, this means the device is activated when the cable is plugged in. For wireless connections, it depends on the availability of the preconfigured WLAN network.
System Configuration Profile Management (SCPM): Network control is only the part of the SCPM capabilities. root can grant rights to switch and configure SCPM to selected users.
User-Controlled Devices: To grant users some rights to control connectivity, set up your devices as user controlled. To do so, set the device activation in YaST to User Controlled. With user-controlled devices, users can start, stop, and switch preconfigured connections.

3.1. ifplug or hotplug Daemon

ifplugd is a daemon that automatically activates configuration of your network device when a cable is plugged in or a card is added and automatically deactivates it if the cable is unplugged or card is removed. Hotplug works similarly to ifplugd. ifplug and hotplug are available for both wired and wireless cards.

To activate ifplug or hotplug for your device, select On Cable Connection or Hotplug device activation in the General tab in the YaST network card configuration. Detailed information about the ifplug daemon is provided in /usr/share/doc/packages/ifplugd/README.


2.4. Common Tasks		3.2. SCPM