ModularEtcNetworkInterfacesSpec

Revision 1 as of 2007-10-28 16:02:19

Please check the status of this specification in Launchpad before editing it. If it is Approved, contact the Assignee or another knowledgeable person before making changes.

Launchpad Entry: modular-etc-network-interfaces
Packages affected: ifupdown

Summary

We want to split out /etc/network/interfaces into one file per (logical) interface.

Release Note

This section should include a paragraph describing the end-user impact of this change. It is meant to be included in the release notes of the first release in which it is implemented. (Not all of these will actually be included in the release notes, at the release manager's discretion; but writing them is a useful exercise.)

It is mandatory.

Rationale

System configuration software commonly has a mechanism for changing network configuration. In order to do this safely, it has to mimic a lot of the logic in ifupdown, which is error prone. This usually results in going in one of two directions: a) trying anyway and likely failing to take all of ifupdown's idiosyncracies into account or b) doing all sorts of tricks to circumvent ifupdown entirely. To fix this, we'll switch to having one file per logical interface with a slightly simpler syntax.

Use Cases

Assumptions

Design

Instead of a stanza /etc/network/interfaces such as:

iface eth0 inet dhcp

...we'll have a file called /etc/network/interfaces.d/eth0

family inet
method dhcp

auto eth4

iface eth4 inet static
    address 192.168.1.77
    netmask 255.255.255.0
    broadcast 192.168.1.255
    network 192.168.1.0
    gateway 192.168.1.1

becomes /etc/network/interfaces.d/eth4:

family inet
method static
address 192.168.1.77
netmask 255.255.255.0
broadcast 192.168.1.255
network 192.168.1.0
gateway 192.168.1.1
auto

auto ath0=homewifi

iface homewifi inet dhcp
    wireless-key s:VerySecret123
    wireless-essid FooBarNet

probably becomes two files. First /etc/network/interfaces.d/homewifi:

family inet
method dhcp
wireless-key s:VerySecret123
wireless-essid FooBarNet

the rest, I'm not sure about right now.

Implementation

This section should describe a plan of action (the "how") to implement the changes discussed. Could include subsections like:

UI Changes

Should cover changes required to the UI, or specific UI that is required to implement this

Code Changes

Code changes should include an overview of what needs to change, and in some cases even the specific details.

Migration

Include:

data migration, if any
redirects from old URLs to new ones, if any
how users will be pointed to the new way of doing things, if necessary.

Test/Demo Plan

It's important that we are able to test new features, and demonstrate them to users. Use this section to describe a short plan that anybody can follow that demonstrates the feature is working. This can then be used during CD testing, and to show off after release.

This need not be added or completed until the specification is nearing beta.

Outstanding Issues

This should highlight any issues that should be addressed in further specifications, and not problems with the specification itself; since any specification with problems cannot be approved.

BoF agenda and discussion

Use this section to take notes during the BoF; if you keep it in the approved spec, use it for summarising what was discussed and note any options that were rejected.

CategorySpec

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