Beyond Linux® From Scratch (systemd edition) - Version 7.6-systemd

Chapter 16. Networking Utilities

NetworkManager-0.9.10.0

Introduction to NetworkManager

NetworkManager is a set of co-operative tools that make networking simple and straightforward. Whether WiFi, wired, 3G, or Bluetooth, NetworkManager allows you to quickly move from one network to another: Once a network has been configured and joined once, it can be detected and re-joined automatically the next time it's available.

This package is known to build and work properly using an LFS-7.6 systemd platform.

[Note]

Note

Make sure you disable systemd-networkd service or make it not configure the connections you want to manage with NetworkManager.

Package Information

NetworkManager Dependencies

Required

dbus-glib-0.102, libndp-1.4, libnl-3.2.25, NSS-3.17, (or GnuTLS-3.3.7), and Systemd (for GUdev and Logind)

Recommended

dhcpcd-6.4.3 or DHCP-4.3.1 (client only), gobject-introspection-1.40.0, Iptables-1.4.21, libsoup-2.46.0, newt-0.52.17 (for nmtui), Polkit-0.112, and Vala-0.24.0

Optional

BlueZ-5.23 (runtime), GTK-Doc-1.20, ModemManager-1.4.0, PyGObject-3.12.2, Qt-4.8.6, Valgrind-3.10.0, wpa_supplicant-2.2 (built with D-Bus support), and libteam

User Notes: http://wiki.linuxfromscratch.org/blfs/wiki/NetworkManager

Installation of NetworkManager 

./configure --prefix=/usr                   \
            --sysconfdir=/etc               \
            --localstatedir=/var            \
            --disable-ppp                   \
            --with-nmtui                    \
            --with-session-tracking=systemd \
            --with-systemdsystemunitdir=/lib/systemd/system &&
make

An already active graphical session with bus address is necessary to run the tests. To test the results, issue: make check.

Now, as the root user: 

make install

Command Explanations

--disable-ppp: This switch disables PPP support in NetworkManager because PPP isn't part of BLFS.

--with-nmtui: This switch enables building of the nmtui program. Remove it if you have not installed newt-0.52.17.

--with-session-tracking=systemd: This switch is used to set systemd-logind as the default program for session tracking.

--with-systemdsystemunitdir=/lib/systemd/system: This switch is used to set the correct installation directory for systemd units.

--enable-gtk-doc: Use this switch if you have installed GTK-Doc-1.20 and wish to build the API manuals.

--without-iptables: Use this switch if you don't have Iptables installed.

Configuring NetworkManager

Config Files

/etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf

Configuration Information

For NetworkManager to work, at least a basic configuration file must be present. Such file is not installed with make install. Run the following command as the root user to create a basic NetworkManager.conf file: 

cat >> /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf << "EOF"
[main]
plugins=keyfile
EOF

You can add dns=none to suppress changes to /etc/resolv.conf. See man 5 NetworkManager.conf for any additional options.

Systemd Units

To start the NetworkManager daemon at boot, enable the previously installed systemd unit by running the following command as the root user: 

systemctl enable NetworkManager

NetworkManager also ships a systemd unit called NetworkManager-wait-online.service which can be used to prevent services that require network connectivity from starting until NetworkManager has established the connection. To enable it, run the following command as the root user: 

systemctl enable NetworkManager-wait-online

Contents

Installed Programs: NetworkManager, nm-online, nmcli, nmtui, nmtui-connect, nmtui-edit, and nmtui-hostname
Installed Libraries: libnm-glib.so, libnm-glib-vpn.so, and libnm-util.so
Installed Directories: /etc/NetworkManager, /usr/include/libnm-glib, /usr/include/NetworkManager, /usr/lib/NetworkManager, /usr/share/doc/NetworkManager, /usr/share/gtk-doc/html/libnm-glib, /usr/share/gtk-doc/html/libnm-util, /usr/share/gtk-doc/html/NetworkManager, /var/lib/NetworkManager, and /var/run/NetworkManager

Short Descriptions

nmcli

is a command-line tool for controlling NetworkManager and getting its status.

nm-online

is a utility to find out whether you are online.

nmtui

is an interactive ncurses based interface for nmcli.

nmtui-connect

is an interactive ncurses based interface connection activate/deactivate.

nmtui-edit

is an interactive ncurses based interface connection editor.

nmtui-hostname

is an interactive ncurses based interface hostname editor.

NetworkManager

is the network management daemon.

libnm-glib.so

contains functions used by NetworkManager.

libnm-glib-vpn.so

contains functions used by NetworkManager VPN plugins.

libnm-util.so

contains functions used by NetworkManager utils.

Last updated on 2014-08-23 13:42:03 -0700