KNetworkManager 0.1

KNetworkManager is the KDE front end for NetworkManager. KNetworkManager project provides a sophisticated and intuitive user interface which enables users easily to switch their network environment.

The range of functions encompasses the features implemented by NetworkManager daemon. Up until now NetworkManager supports:

Wired Ethernet Devices (IEEE 802.3)
Wireless Ethernet Devices (IEEE 802.11): Unencrypted, WEP, WPA Personal, WPA Enterprise
Virtual Private Network (VPN): OpenVPN, VPNC
Dial-Up (PPP)

How does it work?

For both, Wireless LAN and Wired LAN, NetworkManager supports devices known to HAL. Unless working in offline mode, NetworkManager tries to keep the system connected at any time. For this, NetworkManager follows the following policy.

Once started, NetworkManager asks HAL about available network interfaces. If a wired network interface with a carrier is found, NetworkManager connects to this. Either by DHCP (default) or by setting up previously defined static configuration. Later on, when KNetworkManager starts up, NetworkManager will expose its information about network devices and wireless networks found by scanning to the applet.

At this point, if a user decides to unplug the wired connection, NetworkManager will not connect to an arbitrary wireless network. By default all available networks are untrusted. Only if a user decides to connect to a network manually once, this specific network n henceforth being marked as trusted.

n = { ESSID, Hardware address or addresses of the access point}

The trusted networks are stored individually for each user. KNetworkManager stores them and informs NetworkManager about the known, trusted networks. If a wired connection drops due to unplugging the cable NetworkManager will automatically connect to a trusted network. As this step was done without user interaction, NetworkManager will reconnect to the wired connection once it has a carrier.

If a user joins a wireless network by manual intervention (e.g. user clicks on a network listed in the context menu of KNetworkManager or connects to a hidden wireless network), NetworkManager will take down any previous connection. If one unplugs the wired connection after such a step, NetworkManager will not connect to the wired connection once it has a carrier.