LFS201 - Exercise 35.2 Nitpick

HenrikAreskoug

Hello,
Minor nitpick but I find the answer to question 35.2 a bit odd. It's about why nmcli/nmtui is preferable to modifying files in /etc

Options A & B are not interesting but C &D are:
C. It avoids modifying distribution-dependent files in /etc
D. The use of nmtui and nmcli should be the same on all Linux distributions

In my view, both C and D are correct, but if I had to pick one I'd say C is more correct.

The course material seem to agree as on the "NIC Configuration Files" page, it is stated: "Each distribution has its own set of files and/or directories, and they may be slightly different, depending on your distribution version. When using systemd, it is preferable to use Network Manager, rather than try to configure the underlying text files."

While the rationale for D is softer (on the Network Manager page): "its use is hopefully almost the same on different systems".

Hardly of earth-shattering significance but if I'm wrong and D is clearly correct while C is not, it'd be interesting to get the rationale.

Many thanks,
/Henrik

coop

It's not obvious "C" is correct. Depending on the distribution, it is possible and probable that some files in /etc/ get modified when you run the network manager stuff. This would be the normal place. Perhaps someone who is a better expert than I could prove or disprove this, but configuration information has to be stored somewhere and the usual place is /etc (which is what it is for) if it is to be persistent -- non-persistent stuff of course could just be in /var/ for example. But I'm sure that is the logic for the answer D and not C.

HenrikAreskoug

It's precisely the fact that different files under /etc are modified depending on the distribution one should choose a pretty-close-to-standard toolset for making the changes.

I think I know what the issue is though. I read option C to mean that as an admin I don't have to manually modify the files under /etc, in which case I would argue would make C the correct choice. If instead they intended C to mean distribution dependent files are never updated as a result of running nmcli/nmtui then of course C is wrong.

coop

It would have been better phrased to say "directly modifying" or "manually modifying" as you suggested. That was the intent I'm sure. Thanks