Hi, On Thu, Mar 12, 2026 at 12:56:46PM +0000, Chris Bell via GLLUG wrote: > I searched the Debian software list by priority based on > the proportions of downloads and decided that firewalld might be best for my > system then found there appeared to be a preference for NetworkManager > because > it it is claimed to make subsequent changes easier.
But firewalld and NetworkManager are meant for completely different purposes so I don't know what to make of you saying you looked for one but were swayed by the other. firewalld just configures firewalls. N-M manages your networking configuration. You can't have a functioning network using only firewalld. You need something to bring up the interfaces and give them IP addresses, set up routes, etc. > I agree that NM is large, together with special provisions for use in > data centres and supercomputers which I don't need. What, specifically, DO you need? What are you trying to do, what have you tried, where did it go wrong exactly? As I said, N-M is more desktop-oriented so actually does not cover all the needs of complex networking environments. It can be made to work in a lot of situations, but so can other things. If you want to use N-M (instead of, say, ifupdown or systemd-networkd) then that's fine, it's just that you haven't explained either why you think you need it or what you're trying to do. All we know so far is that you're trying to replace an existing machine. Well, any of the networking setups can do that. Use whatever you were using on the existing machine if you like. Might be simpler. > The combination of NM and firewalld might even be capable of replacing much > of > dnsmasq and bind that I have been using for many years. Oh no. dnsmasq/bind are again different to firewalld and N-M! They can't replace either of those things. > I will be happy to use /etc/network/interfaces.d and MAC addresses, which is > how I began, while an occasional reboot would not bother me if required. The /etc/network/interfaces file is for ifupdown, an alternative to NetworkManager! It will probably be fine for your purposes. You probably don't need to worry about MAC addresses. Was there a reason you mention them? This line of discussion has all the hallmarks of an X/Y problem: we're two posts in and there is no clear explanation of what it is you want to achieve, what you've tried and what went wrong with that. Instead you're just giving solutions (names of various bits of software) that may or may not apply, may or may not have been tried. Normally things go a bit like this: "I have a computer with five network interfaces on which I want to install Debian 13 (trixie)" "Okay then, sounds reasonable. That will come with ifupdown for the networking unless you install a desktop environment in which case it will install NetworkManager as well. You'll probably find it easier to just use ifupdown which is configured in /etc/network/interfaces." So I suggest: get the network up and running with ifupdown and report back as to any problems or what you want to tackle next. If you want to use something else instead of ifupdown, even N-M, that's fine. Have a go and let us know if/where you get stuck. Thanks, Andy -- https://bitfolk.com/ -- No-nonsense VPS hosting -- GLLUG mailing list [email protected] https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/gllug
