KDE4.3: wicd versus networkmanager

stefan1975 · 2009-08-17 13:47:30

Hi,

i am running KDE4.3 (1 [extra] and 1 kdemod) and am deciding on a networking application.

I thought i'd go with WICD since it is lighter and has no GTK dependencies on KDE, but for some bizarre reason on both my pc's it will *never* connect with DHCP to a wired network on the first attempt. When I manually run 'dhcpcd' it connects like a charm.

On the other hand when I run the networkmanager daemon with the nm-applet tray icon, connectivity is perfect and really fast. Although it gives me this horrible GTK popup when it connects to the network. On fedora 11's networkmanager (NetworkManager-0.7.1-8.git20090708) you can turn these popup notifications off ...... will 'we' get that version as well by tthe way?.

Why would networkmanager work perfectly and wics make me restart dhcpcd before connecting? I'd use netcfg but I am often underway and connect to different networks all the time and i have found wired/wireless switching a bit cumbersome with netcfg.

stefan

Gen2ly · 2009-08-17 16:14:01

There is the nut that might be an alternative.

stefan1975 · 2009-08-17 17:18:03

hi,

thanks for the link. nut seems okay and i will give it a go but what i seem to notice from the wiki is the same problem i have with netcfg, there is no 'easy' network switching, i need to switch between wired and wireless but also between several wireless networks. I like the fact that NM and WiCd have this option where you click the icon and select a wireless network from the list.

stefan

Dheart · 2009-08-18 06:08:28

I've never had problems with Wicd. I can't say the same about networkmanager, thought -> It often refused to connect when using encrypted network (Had to try two-three times in order to achieve a connection.)

stefan1975 · 2009-08-18 07:17:06

well wicd does work okay .... when it works. I added the wicd to the daemons array in the rc.conf and the client.py in KDE. As described in the wiki i removed all other entries to dhclient, interfaces, network, dhcpcd in the rc.conf. After this it connects like a charm but only after an "/etc/rc.d/dhcpcd restart" where NM connects on the first attempt.

gondsman · 2009-08-18 11:20:49

Actually it's quite simple to switch between different networks with NUTS, because you can configure it to run scripts when cable is connected/disconnected or when it finds a wireless network. You can configure different settings (dhcp...) according to a lot of parameters. For example you can configure it to remount network shares if it finds a specific IP in the network or you can choose which network to use depending on the presence/absence of an AP.

Nixxx · 2009-08-30 08:29:55

Hi all. I've been trying both and here are my problems:

1. WiCD disconnects automaticly on my laptop when i'm not touching it for about couple minutes. I don't have any powersave utilities and have power supply connected all the time.

2. Networkmanager/networkmanager-plasmoid-svn crashes after suspending to RAM - i need to restart the application

Last edited by Nixxx (2009-08-30 14:25:21)

Llama · 2009-08-30 09:33:51

One probably has to do something special to make wicd misbehave. No, by itself and of itself it doesn't mismanage connections

Trent · 2009-08-30 14:11:30

Llama wrote:

One probably has to do something special to make wicd misbehave. No, by itself and of itself it doesn't mismanage connections

Wicd seems to have mixed reviews. It works great for some people and is the answer to all their issues, but some people just have problem after problem after problem with it. Personally I don't like the way it handles multiple WAPs with the same ESSID; that's why I am using plain ol' netcfg now. So, no, I would not agree that one has to do anything special to make wicd misbehave. (Maybe it just doesn't like me.)

venky80 · 2009-08-31 23:42:11

Nixxx wrote:

Hi all. I've been trying both and here are my problems:
1. WiCD disconnects automaticly on my laptop when i'm not touching it for about couple minutes. I don't have any powersave utilities and have power supply connected all the time.
2. Networkmanager/networkmanager-plasmoid-svn crashes after suspending to RAM - i need to restart the application

using the latest one here very smooth after suspend to ram no crashes

Zibi1981 · 2009-09-01 09:20:00

stefan1975 wrote:

well wicd does work okay .... when it works. I added the wicd to the daemons array in the rc.conf and the client.py in KDE. As described in the wiki i removed all other entries to dhclient, interfaces, network, dhcpcd in the rc.conf. After this it connects like a charm but only after an "/etc/rc.d/dhcpcd restart" where NM connects on the first attempt.

Just a guess, but did you put wicd in DAEMONS line of /etc/rc.conf file after or before hal?

stefan1975 · 2009-09-01 10:28:55

I start hal first and wicd after that. for some reason it *never* connects on the first attempt but after restarting dhcpcd it works flawlessly. Networkmanager with nm-applet works perfectly for me, and now with the latest kdemod patch forcing the GTK notification to use QT instead of the horrendous yellow balloon it is not half bad anymore either. I still much prefer nm-applet over that alpha plasma thingy every day and twice on sunday though.

Arch Linux

#1 2009-08-17 13:47:30

KDE4.3: wicd versus networkmanager

#2 2009-08-17 16:14:01

Re: KDE4.3: wicd versus networkmanager

#3 2009-08-17 17:18:03

Re: KDE4.3: wicd versus networkmanager

#4 2009-08-18 06:08:28

Re: KDE4.3: wicd versus networkmanager

#5 2009-08-18 07:17:06

Re: KDE4.3: wicd versus networkmanager

#6 2009-08-18 11:20:49

Re: KDE4.3: wicd versus networkmanager

#7 2009-08-30 08:29:55

Re: KDE4.3: wicd versus networkmanager

#8 2009-08-30 09:33:51

Re: KDE4.3: wicd versus networkmanager

#9 2009-08-30 14:11:30

Re: KDE4.3: wicd versus networkmanager

#10 2009-08-31 23:42:11

Re: KDE4.3: wicd versus networkmanager

#11 2009-09-01 09:20:00

Re: KDE4.3: wicd versus networkmanager

#12 2009-09-01 10:28:55

Re: KDE4.3: wicd versus networkmanager

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