Network method in 13.2

English Network/Internet
1

I am running a wireless connnnection in OS 13.2. The release notes section 1.2 has:

"After updating from 13.1 to 13.2 using YaST, there are good chances that the new Wicked network method is running together with the old NetworkManager, if you are using a laptop with a wifi connection.

To solve this, first disable Wicked and enable again NetworkManager:
systemctl is-active network.service && systemctl stop network.service systemctl is-active wickedd.service && systemctl stop wickedd.service systemctl disable wicked.service systemctl --force enable NetworkManager.service systemctl start network.service Then check whether the currently selected service is actually NetworkManager:
systemctl -p Id show network.service And update /etc/resolv.conf:
netconfig update Or reboot after the systemctl commands to restart also wpa_suplicant. "

I do not really understand this other than to test that both the network service and the wickedd service is indeed active. What am I supposed to be doing above ?

2

Run this in a terminal window (after switching to root with “su”):

systemctl is-active network.service && systemctl stop network.service
 systemctl is-active wickedd.service && systemctl stop wickedd.service
 systemctl disable wicked.service
 systemctl --force enable NetworkManager.service
 systemctl start network.service

This should disable (and stop) wicked and enable (and start) NetworkManager.

You could of course check first whether wicked is really running/active:

systemctl status wickedd.service

Or switching between them in YaST->Network Devices->Network Settings->Global Options should also help if both are active, I think.

But do you actually have any problem? Otherwise this shouldn’t be necessary at all.
And if you do have a problem, you’d better ask about the actual problem I suppose, and provide more information about your hardware (output of “/sbin/lspci -nnk” e.g. for a start) and the symptoms.

3

I do no see a problem but the original note from the 13.2 installation suggested to me that having the Wicked network method running at the same time as the NetworkManager was somehow wrong, redundant, or wasteful. Was I wrong in interpreting the note this way ? If so, what was the purpose of that note ?

If Wicked ( what a name to choose <g> ) is the new method, and only one should be running at the same time, shouldn’t the older NetworkManager be the one to be disabled in favor of Wicked ? But the note suggested to disable Wicked in favor of NetworkManager. This further adds to my confusion about the 13.2 installation note.

4

Just to point out that both network configuration environments might be operating when first upgraded, and how to kill wicked in favour of NM.

If Wicked ( what a name to choose <g> ) is the new method, and only one should be running at the same time, shouldn’t the older NetworkManager be the one to be disabled in favor of Wicked ? But the note suggested to disable Wicked in favor of NetworkManager. This further adds to my confusion about the 13.2 installation note.

No, wicked has replaced the legacy ‘ifup’ service. If you used NetworkManager prior to openSUSE 13.2, then you’ll want to stay with that. NM is good for those changing networks frequently (eg using a laptop at work,home, library,university etc). Wicked is more suited to a desktop/server environment where a fixed wired/wireless network is employed.

5

Does running both network configuration environments slow down network access in any way ?

In this instance I am running OS 13.2 in a home desktop environment on a fixed wired/wireless network. Does that mean that I should used Wicked rather than staying with NetworkManager ? I gather that Wicked is new with 13.2.

6

No, it shouldn’t slow down network access.

But it can cause many different problems if two different services are trying to configure your network interfaces with different settings.
One of the more often reported issues is that the interface might get a dynamic IP address via DHCP although it is configured to have a static one… :wink:

In this instance I am running OS 13.2 in a home desktop environment on a fixed wired/wireless network. Does that mean that I should used Wicked rather than staying with NetworkManager ? I gather that Wicked is new with 13.2.

For wireless, NetworkManager is the preferred one, this is actually enabled by default if the installer detects a wireless device.

But normally it shouldn’t matter, at least if you can get wicked to work with your wireless… :wink:

Your desktop environment’s network applet only works with NetworkManager though.

7

I disabled Wicked and set NetworkManager as my network configuration application. Everything seems to be running fine. Thanks for your help.