A new way
The desktop team at Red Hat realized the current interface in Linux networking is unacceptable. They wanted to create a new application that is simple to use. However, simplicity is a concept that is easier to understand than to define. With this in mind, they came up with some guidelines for their new application. They believe that a network tool should:
* Auto-detect as much information as possible
* Seamlessly switch connections when necessary
* Be unobtrusive
* Provide immediate feedback of network state to users and applications
* Work without any command line interaction
* Offer connection points as a user preference
Another important feature planned from the start of NetworkManager is its ability to function with any Linux distribution. Among the distributions which already offer NetworkManager packages are Fedora, Gentoo, Debian, and Slackware. As NetworkManager was designed with portability in mind, packaging for other distributions should be relatively painless. With such broad distribution support, application developers are able to utilize the features of NetworkManager with the knowledge that their efforts reap widespread rewards.