netconf
Channel: DebConf Videos
Date: 2017-11-24

by martin f. krafft

At: DebConf8
http://penta.debconf.org/dc8_schedule/events/230.en.html
https://debconf8.debconf.org/

modern, bottom-up, stateless network interface configuration

This presentation introduces netconf, a network configuration management
system designed with modern network infrastructures and the needs of roaming
users in mind. The talk describes netconf's architecture and reports on the
progress to date.

On Linux systems nowadays, network configuration happens in one of two ways:
by way of a distro-specific solution, or using NetworkManager. Neither of
these two approaches are really suitable for today's requirements, which
include roaming laptops and wireless networks, VPNs, LinkLocal networks,
etc.

The distro-specific methods usually employ hooks to configure everything
beyond the simple IP interface, but the solutions are quite brittle in the
event of errors or exceptional situations. And while NetworkManager does
a splendid job with wireless networks, it suffers from a number of
limitations, such as the inability to store more than one static address
configuration. In addition, its GUI-centric approach often leaves advanced
users with a feeling of lack of control, and imposes unneccessary dependencies
for minimal systems.

netconf aims to address these problems. It is a daemon designed from the
bottom up with only minimal functionality. It uses an event-driven model and
well-defined, bidirectional interfaces, which make it possible to integrate
advanced functionality: link and location autodetection; configuration of
printers, smarthosts, proxies, etc. from DHCP data; LinkLocal addressing;
wireless LAN; VPN; firewalling; advanced routing and traffic control,
including bridging, various user interfaces (including the NetworkManager
GUI), and so on.

netconf was developed for Debian systems but its design makes it trivial for
other distributions (even using non-Linux kernels) to deploy it without the
need to adopt Debian's network configuration paradigms — in fact, the
compatibility with Debian's well-established ifupdown is implemented as an
extension to the netconf core.  It is currently in alpha state and implemented
in Python, but with a the eventual porting to C in mind.

This presentation assumes experience with Linux network configuration
management. Previous exposure to complex network infrastructures would be
a bonus to the attendant as well as the speaker.

Room: Salon del mar
Scheduled start: 2008-08-15 20:00:00