Chapter 10. Managing Network Connections / 10.3. Common NeworkManager Tasks
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10.3. Common NeworkManager Tasks

This section describes how to achieve common tasks with NetworkManager, such as switching off the network or setting a static IP address.

10.3.1. Switching Off the Network

If you are on a plane or in any other environment where wireless networking is not allowed, you can switch it off easily using the NetworkManager applet. You can also switch off all network connections, both wired and wireless.

To disable networking, right-click the GNOME NetworkManager applet icon and uncheck Enable Networking. To disable wireless networking only, right-click the applet icon and uncheck Enable Wireless.

10.3.2. Setting Up a Static IP Address on an Interface

NetworkManager honors network interface settings made by YaST and saved in the /etc/sysconfig/network directory. If you want to use a static IP address with your network card, set the address using YaST.

  1. In YaST, click Network Devices+Network Card.

  2. Select User Controlled with NetworkManager, then click Next.

  3. Select the network card to configure, then click Edit.

  4. In the Address tab, select  Static Address Setup.

  5. Set your IP address, then click Next.

  6. Click Next to finish and activate the static IP address.

10.3.3. Using NetworkManager with VPN

NetworkManager supports several VPN technologies. To use them, first install NetworkManager support for your VPN technology. You can select from:

  • NovellVPN

  • OpenVPN

  • vpnc (Cisco)

VPN support is included in the NetworkManager-novellvpn, NetworkManager-openvpn, and NetworkManager-vpns packages.

To configure a new VPN connection with NetworkManager, left-click the GNOME NetworkManager applet and follow these steps:

  1. Click VPN Connections+Configure VPN.

  2. Click Add, then click Forward to start the Create VPN Connection wizard.

  3. Select the type of VPN connection you want to create, then click Forward.

  4. Type a name for your configuration in the Connection Name field.

  5. Specify all required information for your type of connection.

    For example, for an OpenVPN connection, enter Gateway and choose the way to authenticate from Connection type. Complete the other required options depending on the connection chosen.

    Alternatively, load settings from a saved configuration file by pressing Import Saved Configuration and choosing your saved configuration file in a standard file dialog.

  6. Click Forward.

After the VPN is configured, you can select it from VPN Connections. To close a VPN connection, click Disconnect VPN.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop Gnome User Guide 10 SP1
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