Hi all: I'm running NM 0.8 on a Dell Studio 1555 Laptop with Ubuntu 10.04, using the Broadcom STA wireless driver. I regularly run between home and the office. I usually don't hibernate, I just suspend by closing the lid and go, and reopen the lid when I get to the other location. When I get there, invariably the list of WIFI networks displayed by left-clicking the NM icon is the OLD list. The only way I can get it to refresh to the networks in the NEW location is to disable WIFI, re-enable it, and (usually) manually select the new network, which should be automatic, but usually isn't, for whatever reason. This could be a Broadcom driver issue, but I doubt it, because a prior Toshiba laptop has similar issues.
I asked this question previously, but at that time the problems were attributed to a known bug with suspend possibly affecting upgrades to Ubuntu from prior versions, and also possibly 64-bit Ubuntu (which I was running before). Since then I have downgraded to i386 (to solve flash video problems with 64-bit Ubuntu) and have done a fresh install from scratch. I still have the same issues. So here are the questions: 1) I understand (from discussion on this list) that NM only refreshes its network list every 2-5 minutes. This seems unreasonably slow to me, especially when the connected AP is *no longer* connected. Does searching for networks draw additional power (seems like a receive-only function to me) or significant CPU bandwidth? Is there some reason it doesn't search and update this list more often, say every 30-60 seconds? The Wiki says only that NM attempts to scan "in a manner that impacts the card the most", whatever that means. 2) I know suspend/hibernate is tricky, all the more reason it should NOT be relied on to operate properly in all cases. But if a connection is lost (regardless of suspend/hibernate status), should that not again trigger an immediate search for networks? If the connection to the current AP is lost, then obviously the environment has changed. Maybe one preferred access point has gone down, but maybe a backup hub is available. Or maybe the laptop has moved. Should NM not automatically refresh the list, and try to connect to another available auto access point? By the same token, if if finds *NO* Wifi networks (like driving through Nevada, or the manual WIFI switch is off) or no *previously used* networks (like in a new hotel room), it could shut the receiver down and only power it up to rescan every 5-15 minutes to save battery, or even less frequently. But it's first reaction on losing a connection SHOULD be to look for another. 3) In the interest of user-friendliness, should there not be an option to immediately "refresh available networks list" on the main menu? Having to disable/enable WIFI to effect this refresh of the network list is both counter-intuitive to new users and extra work for everybody. In the Wiki, it says that "clicking on the applet will initiate a scan request." Either that does not work, or the list is displayed before the scan is complete (I don't know how long a scan takes, seconds? less?), otherwise I would not see old info displayed as I always do. Even if the claimed action in the Wiki were true, it would be bad interface design and counter-intuitive, unless it also displayed a "searching" dialog until the list is refreshed, or refused to display a list that is not confirmed by the current scan. Then people would know for sure that a real and current scan is actually happening, and not just displaying cached data, which is apparently happening now. 4) The relationship between the various connections listed in "edit connections" is anything but clear. Is there a priority in which "auto" connections are tried (Wiki says the last WIFI used is first, but what order after that?) Is a wired connection always preferred over a Wifi, over a broadband, etc? Are there ways to adjust those preferences or priorities? A help button here would go a long way, since the man pages for "networkmanager" and "nm-tool" leave much to be desired. And since NM is the way we GET to the net, a URL on the "about" page is no substitute for a little internal/local documentation somewhere. It seems to me that in the interest of making networking "just work", NM needs to take more of a "belt-and-suspenders" approach-- rather than just assume that the intended functionality is always working, it needs ways that the user can gently "nudge" or confirm it when it isn't. Sorry if this sounds like a rant-- it really is intended to be constructive. I appreciate all you have done to date-- I just wish NM delivered a little better on its promise of "just working". -- Matt Warnock <[email protected]> RidgeCrest Herbals, Inc. _______________________________________________ networkmanager-list mailing list [email protected] http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/networkmanager-list
