A fresh update to NetworkManager – utilized by a majority of Linux distributions, including Ubuntu, to control both wired and wireless network connections – has been launched this week.
NetworkManager 1.50 will not feature in Ubuntu 24.10, which will come with version 1.48; however, the updates it introduces are still noteworthy.
One significant change in NetworkManager 1.50 is the formal deprecation of support for dhclient, as it transitions towards its own internal DHCP client. The previous version will no longer be compiled “…unless explicitly enabled, and will be removed in a future release.”
Is this likely to cause significant problems? It’s improbable; NetworkManager switched to its own DHCP client by default starting with the v1.20 release in 2019.
Recent updates in NetworkManager 1.50 include:
- Introduction of a new timeout option for checking connectivity
- Support for configuring virtual ethernet (veth) interfaces in
nmtuihas been added - Support for multiple gateways within a single network in ndisc
- Configuration options for channel-width in AP mode for Wi-Fi connections
- Capability to reapply VLANs of a bridge port
- Retrying hostname resolution if it encounters failure
- Reverting to utilizing sysctl ipv6.conf.default for ip6-privacy
- Elimination of offensive terms from keyfiles
The last point is part of Red Hat’s ‘conscious language initiative’. NetworkManager has already ceased using “offensive terms” (it can still read them if they exist) and this release finalizes the effort by preventing such language from being newly written into keyfiles.
At last, with the release of NetworkManager 1.50, the system hostname is now determined by performing a reverse DNS lookup on the addresses defined in the interfaces, taking into account the contents of /etc/hosts. A helpful hostname management diagram illustrates the functionality.
For further insights regarding this update, you can check out the NetworkManager blog.
Typically, I conclude a news report about a new release with guidance on how to obtain it or with details on its availability. However, in this case, it’s unnecessary: NetworkManager is an essential component of the operating system. Only those who are proficient in handling it should proceed; the rest of us can simply wait for our distribution to implement it.