[sclug] Ubuntu issues

[Darren Davison]

On Wed, Oct 07, 2009 at 09:47:52AM +0000, Ed Davies wrote:
> Pieter Claassen wrote:
> > ... For example, network configuration is done using a
> > NetworkManager(?) and even though /etc/network/interfaces still works. Using
> > it stops NetworkManager from doing its job properly and consequently you
> > have issues like dns not always working (/etc/resolv.conf empty) and no
> > obvious way to configure it etc. 
> 
> I agree with your general sentiment.  It's hard enough to figure out
> what's going on when there's only one layer involved but nearly
> impossible when there are multiple layers interacting in non-obvious
> ways.
> 
> In this case, though, the solution is simple: uninstall NetworkManager.
> I had some WiFi problems and couldn't figure out what was happening so,
> though I was then only vaguely aware of the /etc/network/interfaces
> stuff, I got rid of NetworkManager and went back to basics, which was
> pretty educational.  I intended to put NetworkManager back but never
> have and now use some scripts which are an extension of these:

I agree too that there is a disturbing general trend to using "simple"
gui tools to iautomagically manage critical system aspects rather than
using the gui as an optional method of configuring the text files.
NetworkManager is a case in point nd Ubuntu has persisted with it
through some distinctly below-average implementations.

However, I've found that since 8.10 most of the issues have been
resolved and I've pretty much left it to its own devices since then.
This includes on my laptop which regularly roams between many different
WiFi nets, uses different broadband dongles and occasionally finds
itself with an ethernet cable in its backside.  The one annoyance with
network manager remains its stubborn refusal to handle standard OpenVPN
configs, so I still have manually invoked scripts for setting up vpn in
various locations.

Cheers,

-- 
Darren Davison
Public Key: 0xE855B3EA
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