10.8 Troubleshooting

Connection problems can occur. Some common problems related to NetworkManager include the applet not starting, a missing VPN option, and issues with SCPM. Methods for resolving and preventing these problems depend on the tool used.

NetworkManager Desktop Applet/Widget Does Not Start

GNOME NetworkManager applet or KDE NetworkManager widget should start automatically if the network is set up for NetworkManager control. If the applet/widget does not start, check if NetworkManager is enabled in YaST as described in Section 10.2, Enabling NetworkManager. Then make sure that the appropriate package for your desktop environment is also installed. If you are using KDE 4, the package is NetworkManager-kde4. For GNOME users the package is NetworkManager-gnome.

If the GNOME desktop applet is installed but is not running for some reason (perhaps you quit it accidentally), start it manually with the command nm-applet.

If your KDE 4 system tray does not show any icon for network connections (as might be the case after switching from a static network configuration to user-controlled with NetworkManager in YaST), add the NetworkManager widget to the panel: right-click an empty patch on the panel, and select Panel Options > Add Widgets. (If your desktop objects are currently locked, you might need to click Unlock Widgets first before you can add any objects.) In the dialog box that appears, select NetworkManager and click Add Widget.

NetworkManager Applet/Widget Does Not Include the VPN Option

Support for NetworkManager, applets, and VPN for NetworkManager is distributed in separate packages. If your NetworkManager applet/widget does not include the VPN option, check if the packages with NetworkManager support for your VPN technology are installed. For more information, see Section 10.7, NetworkManager and VPN.

SCPM Does Not Switch the Network Configuration

You are probably using SCPM together with NetworkManager. NetworkManager is not currently able to work with SCPM profiles. Do not use NetworkManager together with SCPM when SCPM profiles also change network settings. To use SCPM and NetworkManager at the same time, disable the network resource in SCPM configuration.

No Network Connection Available

If you have configured your network connection correctly and all other components for the network connection (router, etc.) are also up and running, it sometimes helps to restart the network interfaces on your computer. To do so, log in to a command line as root and run rcnetwork restart.