NetworkManager not managing wired connections
I’ve been running across this bug since Intrepid (8.10) and now I got the same problem on Jaunty (9.04). NetworkManager’s Applet says my wired connection isn’t being managed. Solution is quite simple. There we go:
Using root permissions (sudo) and your favorite text editor, edit the file /etc/network/interfaces and comment out (#) all the entries related to your wired network device (i.e.: eth0). Make it look like this:
# The loopback network interface
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback
## The primary network interface
#auto eth0
#iface eth0 inet static
# address 192.168.0.2
# netmask 255.255.255.0
# network 192.168.0.0
# broadcast 192.168.255
# gateway 192.168.0.1
# # dns-* options are implemented by the resolvconf package, if installed
# dns-nameservers 200.100.50.25 200.400.600.800
Save the changes. Your network connection should work on NetworkManager after a reboot. Remember, these numbers apply to my network and this device I’m using (eth0) may not be your case, so it may as well be eth1, eth2, etc. You can either remove all the commented lines (lines beginning with #) or just add a # and leave ‘em there commented out.
Cheers 
Not a bug. It’s safer to manage as much sutff as possible with layer that’s proven for over over a decade, maybe even more. I even had trouble with wireless connections with NM only about a year ago, and that was what NM was made for originally.
Again, this is not a bug, this is a more secure default CONFIGURATION.
I didn’t get your point buddy. What sort of dumb configuration is this anyway? NetworkManager was supposed to manage my connections out of the box, right? Thanks for your input on the subject though.
/etc/network/interfaces is the standard place on Debian-based GNU/Linux distributions where network configuration is kept, and in my opinion, should be kept. How and where NetworkManager keeps its configuration, only select few know. Probably gconf and not very easily editable.
While I like NM for managing wireless connections, I’d rather leave wired network configuration to standard, old-fashined methods. Besides, what if someone doesn’t have NM installed? Isn’t it better that by default their machine still sends DHCP request and receives an IP address so that network software works?
What happens if your X11 doesn’t start? NM daemon, the background service, won’t receive its configuration from nm-applet (the little program sitting in your system tray under XFCE and Gnome). So how do you go about fixing stuff?
Do you think a newbie encountering problems with installation, but capable of reading tutorials on second machine would appreciate first having to reactivate STANDARD way of acquiring network addresses? This is what they’d have to do if they were unable to launch X11 to get NM to acquire the network address.
In any case, just accept the fact that this is probably decided to be configured like this INTENTIONALLY.
By the way, sorry for sounding harsh in first post. I’ve stumbled upon your post when searching for information how to get NM to manage network under Debian, and it’s quite instructive. Thanks for that. I just don’t agree with your assessment that this is a bug, because it is not — NM is a weird piece of software, and some things just shouldn’t depend on it, at least until it gets a nice command line management client
Ok, I got your point and I don’t want to get into an argument with you. But hey, you’re a debian user… We’re talking ubuntu here! An experienced user should know what to do in case NM isn’t available… I think this is a bug because NM should work out of the box. If there’s NM then it should manage networks right? This would work perfectly for me if i had DHCP on my home network. Thing is, I don’t. I have to manually set my ip addy. I really appreciate your comments though. You’re welcome to speak your mind out loud in here.
Cheers