Frequently Asked Questions - Novell LINUX ENTERPRISE SERVER 11 - ADMINISTRATION Administration Manual

nections that are defined as system connection can be shared by all users and are made
available right after NetworkManager is started—before any users log in. In case of
system connections, all credentials must be provided at the time the connection is cre-
ated. Such system connections can be used to automatically connect to networks that
require authorization. For information how to configure user or system connections,
refer to Section 23.3, "Configuring Network Connections"
If you switch from using a wireless connection to offline mode, NetworkManager blanks
the ESSID. This ensures that the card is disconnected.
23.7.1 Storing Passwords and Credentials
If you do not want to re-enter your credentials each time you want to connect to an en-
crypted network, you can use the desktop-specific tools GNOME Keyring Manager or
KWalletManager to store your credentials encrypted on the disk, secured by a master
password.
NetworkManager can also retrieve its certificates for secure connections (for example,
encrypted wired, wireless or VPN connections) from the certificate store. For more in-
formation, refer to Chapter 12, Certificate Store (↑Security Guide).

23.8 Frequently Asked Questions

In the following, find some frequently asked questions about configuring special network
options with NetworkManager.
How to tie a connection to a specific device?
By default, connections in NetworkManager are device type specific: they apply
to all physical devices with the same type. If more than one physical device per
connection type is available (for example, your machine is equipped with two eth-
ernet cards), you can tie a connection to a certain device by explicitly specifying
the hardware address (or MAC address) of the device.
Look up the MAC address of your device either in the Connection Information,
available from the applet/widget, or using the output of command line tools like
nm-tool or ifconfig. Then start the dialog for configuring network connections
from the GNOME Control Center with System > Network Configurations or in
KDE 4 from the Personal Settings with Advanced > Network Settings. Choose the
(page 323).
Using NetworkManager 329