[systemd-devel] systemd-networkd and GNOME integration

[Paul Menzel]

Dear systemd folks,


For several GNOME systems, systemd-networkd is an alternative to the 
NetworkManager. For example, desktop systems with a plugged in Ethernet 
cable, which do not use wireless devices. As systemd-networkd is often 
not packaged separately by distributions, it’s a viable option to not 
install NetworkManager on these systems for space and speed (and even 
security) reasons.


Am 18.12.20 um 21:56 schrieb Florian Müllner:
>> It’d be great, if the network indicator could also talk to
>> systemd-networkd.
> 
> Sorry, but our policy is to integrate one technology well, instead of
> trying to support different alternatives to different extents.
> 
> That has been tried for NetworkManager alternatives in the past, and I
> don't see how systemd-networkd is different. That is, unless we
> expect it to replace NetworkManager eventually, we are not going to
> add support.
> 
> That said, systemd-networkd probably provides a D-Bus API, so it
> should be possible for an extension to provide that support.

I assume, that GNOME Shell’s indicator is part of the network settings, 
meaning, that right clicking it, should allow to configure the whole 
network? Then indeed, seamless integration would be hard, unless 
systemd-networkd somehow implements the NetworkManager API?

There several network daemons out there, like ConnMan. A (seemingly 
unmaintained) GNOME Shell extension exists [2].

So, would a generic network indicator applet work, just showing the 
current network status with IP address and no configuration? The daemons 
could implement that API? Is that realistic? Does such a simple API 
exist already?


Kind regards,

Paul


[1]: https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-shell/-/issues/3419
[2]: https://github.com/jgke/gnome-extension-connman