Gordon Messmer writes:
I understand what you're saying. It's just that static
configuration isn't
what NM does. The old network service does, and I sincerely hope no one
ever suggests deprecating the network service unless NM offers that mode of
operation, which it does not, today.
I'm trying to recall the history of introduction of NM. I'm pretty sure
that, at some point, a new Fedora release made NM the default network
configuration manager. I certainly do not recall explicitly enabling network
manager for my existing servers.
And, in fact, NM will definitely own a particular interface unless one
explicitly shoves NM_CONTROLLED=NO, doesn't it? So, in fact we have NM
getting attached, by default, by default, for all network interfaces unless
one takes explicit steps to exclude it.
Maybe, perhaps, this approach should've made sense to do so only when NM
actually was able to support all the functionality it was taking over? How's
that for a crazy idea? Does anyone think I'm being completely off-base and
unreasonable, expecting to things to continue to work, as is, by default?
I don't mind if network service got replaced by NM, or by some other
infrastructure. Whatever it is, I'll learn to use it. I just
don't
want
my
stuff
to
break.
I don't want to figure out exactly, and in what precise way, something is
now broken, and then figure out how to hack my way around it.
And I am not singling out just NetworkManager. It's merely a symptom of the
latest malaise that's infecting too many people – "ooh! shiny ball!" – and
then getting fixated on the new, shiny, spinning ball, and then ripping out
reliable, working functionality, replacing it with a bunch of bells and
whistles that don't quite replace what was there before.