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• Launchpad entry: https://features.launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+spec/kubuntu-feisty-networking

• Packages affected: kde-systemsettings, kdepim, kdenetwork, konversation

Summary

Kubuntu is lacking static configuration for WPA networks (knetworkconf), better handling of network availability by key applications (kopete, kmail...) and have to reduce some duplication (knetworkmanager, wlassistant).

Rationale

Good networking support is critical, particularly for mobile people.

Use cases

• John is a mobile user. He connects to different wireless networks when traveling. He can use the network-manager tray icon to get a list of wireless network and can easily connect to them using any of the supported security modes (WEP, WPA, RADIUS...). He can use network services in the environment, like network printers, without further configuration.
• Nancy goes to many meetings during the day, switching meeting rooms and plugging/unplugging the network several times. Her mail and chat clients detect network state, and automatically and gracefully disconnect/reconnect when the network state changes.

Scope

Reconsider Kubuntu network configuration applications after inclusion of network-manager and avahi in default Feisty install. Make key applications network aware.

Design

• Switch to knetworkmanager as default application for wire/wireless network management (see NetworkRoaming)

• Remove configuration options for Zeroconf networking to ensure just-works experience (see ZeroConfNetworking)

• Improve mail/chat/IRC clients to gracefully handle network disconnects/reconnects.

Implementation

• Install knetworkmanager by default and drop wlassistant from default install and CD. [done: kubuntu-meta 1.24]

• Remove "Zeroconf Service Discovery" from System settings as it is not needed anymore (avahi should just work).
• Incorporate Kmail/Kopete/Konversation patches to gracefully handle network disconnects/reconnects
  • Kopete/Konversation: automatically reconnect, no error if network is unavailable
  • KMail: go to offline mode if not connected, no (or less invasive) errors if network is down

• SuSE includes [http://developer.kde.org/~binner/distributor-patches/SUSE patches in OpenSuse 10.1] which include these changes; they need to be reviewed with Upstream and/or for inclusion in Kubuntu

Unresolved issues

• Static IP configuration with WPA: knetworkconf does only WEP - user will need to edit config files if WPA is needed with static IP config. Guidance network configuration module would be nice replacement for knetworkconf, but it would require quite some work to implement

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