Default network configuration during installation, NetworkManager and the /etc/sysconfig/network-script's

[David Cantrell]

On Tue, Oct 28, 2008 at 12:48:48PM -0400, Dan Williams wrote:
> On Tue, 2008-10-28 at 09:38 -0700, Jesse Keating wrote:
> > On Tue, 2008-10-28 at 11:31 +0000, Michael Cutler wrote:
> > > 
> > > (1). Include NetworkManager in the '@core' group, such that every
> > > install will include NetworkManager and a minimal install as described
> > > above will bring the system up with network connectivity.
> > 
> > And here we have another fun argument about how 'minimal' should the
> > minimal install be!  We've chucked yum in @core, might as well chuck
> > NetworkManager too...
> 
> Right, but we still don't turn NM on by default with chkconfig.  Which
> means even if you bring it into @core, your networking still won't work
> unless you turn NM on post-install manually.
> 
> The issue here (IIRC) was that Anaconda won't set up an ifcfg file for
> you if you don't use network to install, because the network
> configuration screen got removed as it was mostly redundant for installs
> where NM is active.
> 
> If you're not installing over the network (and thus there's no network
> configuration to save out) should the "network config" screen come back?
> Or should anaconda just activate all devices onboot with DHCP?  The
> latter sounds like a loss.  If you want stuff set up post-boot without
> NetworkManager, maybe it's not unreasonable that you have to configure
> it yourself.  What's the difference if that happens post-install or
> during install?

This is a good point.  I really don't think it's unreasonable to require any
of the following:

1) Users have to use NetworkManager to bring up a network interface.
2) Users have to run system-config-network to set up networking.
3) Users have to edit ifcfg-DEVICE files by hand.

Over the past several years, we [anaconda team] has been trying to move as
many system configuration screens out of anaconda as we can.  Only what we
need to ensure the system either (a) installs correctly or (b) reboots and
is usable.  We're down to:

   language
   keyboard
   root password
   timezone
   hostname
   boot loader (automatic unless you ask to configure it)

There are some other ideas that we could come up with too.  What if firstboot
asked you how you want to configure your network interface?  As in, exposing
the s-c-network UI or something from NetworkManager?  Just brainstorming.
These really just make what's already there more accessible after an initial
install.

-- 
David Cantrell <dcantrell at redhat.com>
Red Hat / Honolulu, HI
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