6 NetworkManager and wicked
#
This chapter focuses on the difference between NetworkManager and
wicked
.
NetworkManager is a program that manages the primary network connection and other
connection interfaces. NetworkManager has been designed to be fully automatic by
default. NetworkManager is handled by systemd
and is shipped with all necessary
service unit files.
wicked
is a network management tool that provides network
configuration as a service and enables changing the network
configuration dynamically.
NetworkManager and wicked
provide similar functionality; however,
they differ in the following points:
root
privilegesIf you use NetworkManager for network setup, you can easily switch, stop, or start your network connection at any time. NetworkManager also makes it possible to change and configure wireless card connections without requiring
root
privileges.wicked
also provides some ways to switch, stop, or start the connection with or without user intervention, like user-managed devices. However, this always requiresroot
privileges to change or configure a network device.- Types of network connections
Both
wicked
and NetworkManager can handle network connections with a wireless network (with WEP, WPA-PSK, and WPA-Enterprise access) and wired networks using DHCP and static configuration. They also support connection through dial-up and VPN. With NetworkManager, you can also connect a mobile broadband (3G) modem or set up a DSL connection, which is not possible with the traditional configuration.NetworkManager tries to keep your computer connected at all times using the best connection available. If the network cable is accidentally disconnected, it tries to reconnect. NetworkManager can find the network with the best signal strength from the list of your wireless connections and automatically use it to connect. To get the same functionality with
wicked
, more configuration effort is required.- k8s integration
Some k8s plugins require NetworkManager to run and are not compatible with
wicked
.
Even though NetworkManager and wicked
are managed by systemd
and
are similar in functionalities, we do not recommend migrating to NetworkManager from
wicked
. Perform a new installation of SLE Micro with the
default network management service—NetworkManager. If you upgraded your system from a
previous release, we recommend keeping wicked
as the
network managing service.