minimal install too minimal

Richard Ryniker ryniker at alum.mit.edu
Thu Mar 18 19:27:58 UTC 2010


> Tom Horsley (horsley1953 at gmail.com) said: 
> > > That's never set by default, so you'd have them both managing
> > > the same interfaces.
> > 
> > If NetworkManager isn't written to explicitly manage only
> > interfaces which say NM_MANAGED=yes, then the developers need
> > their brains fixed.
> 
> NetworkManager is the default. Having the default do nothing
> unless additional configuration is done is sort of pointless.
> 
> Bill Nottingham

NM_CONTROLLED=yes

is the default.  If NM_CONTROLLED is not specified, this is the assumed
value.  The purpose of NM_CONTROLLED is to allow a configuration
parameter NM_CONTROLLED=no to designate an interface that will not be
managed by NetworkManager.

Whenever a default is changed, there is a possibility for surprise.
"It's broken." is often the initial conclusion when what used to work now
fails.  Curiously, the more experience we have, the faster we are likely
to say "It's broken." because our experience gives us confidence we know
what should happen - and are therfore more likely to be surprised, caught
unawares, by a changed default.

I, and probably a significant number of others, have learned to configure
NM_CONTROLLED=no (there is a convenient little check box in
system-config-network's GUI) and "CHKCONFIG NetworkManager off" and
"CHKCONFIG network on" in cases where we perceive no benefit from
NetworkManager.

Perhaps in the future NetworkManager will become more useful (or, at
least, perceived as innocuous) in cases where it is now avoided because
it is unfamiliar or does something undesirable.  One problem is that,
after several Fedora releases delivered NetworkManager problems, those
who experienced these problems are reluctant to try again: "Turn off
NetworkManager." has become simply part of our habitual Fedora
configuration, and may remain so even after the reason we did this no
longer is valid.


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