VPN menu not accessible when not using dhcp

[Adik]

Binary package hint: network-manager

This is my first bug report here and I'm not sure if this has been already reported but I actually had a look and couldn't find it. Everytime I change my connection to a static IP the applet doesnt show my VPN connections. It only tells me "manual configuration" if I click on the icon. If I change back to dhcp everything works just fine.

best regards

Christoph

[Martin Pitt (pitti)]

 status confirmed
 importance wishlist

[ekingery (pj-mfc)]

I have the same problem. I have to completely re-install network-manager to get it back to the 'dhcp' state where the vpn connections show up. Also, this is a fairly major problem for me, as I definitely need VPN, and I definitely prefer to get a static IP from my router, as the machine I am running on is used as a server.

I also posted in bug 106509, as that seems to be the same issue. Thanks for any assistance with this problem.

[Martin G Miller (mgmiller)]

I have the same problem. I need to run a static IP on my feisty machine because it's a server for my house. I have been unable to use VPN since Dapper. If I set roaming mode, the vpn options appear in the nm-applet and I can establish the tunnel without error messages, but I can not access the machine I have vpn'd to.

[Chad Skeeters (goobsoft)]

Not only do I have the same problem, I'd like to see a fix that addresses the issue I'm about to describe too.

If you run KVM (virtualization) or QEMU, you will setup a bridged interface and run all of your configuration through br0 instead of eth0. I'd ideally like network-manager to be able to configure br0 and have the VPN be able to function on that interface.

Seems like a simple text file that lists the interfaces for network-manager to manage would have been better than detecting which interfaces to ignore from the /etc/network/interfaces file. I'm sure a simple gui can be developed to maintain a file like that easily.

[Giuliastro (gyesspam)]

I have the same problem. VPN options disappear when using a static IP address.

[tilman (tilmaniac)]

I would vote for this bug (and its duplicates) to be elevated from wishlist status.
It seems pretty important to be able to make vpn connections (using the graphical nm tool) even when using a static IP address.

[Mark Favas (mark-favas)]

I agree with tilman's comment: this functionality should not depend on whether the address is statically defined or provided via dhcp.

[Piotr R. Sidorowicz (prsidoro)]

I second that motion. Moreover, this would be a terrific workaround to the currently unresolved bug, where when using vpn, dhclient overwrites the changes made by NetworkManager to /etc/resolv.conf. In a static configuration this issue would be moot.

[Kirils Solovjovs (linux-kirils)]

The same problem.

**Please raise the priority of this as it's a bug from users' perspective. People with static IP's cannot connect to certain services (VPN), while "DHCPed" people can. It should have nothing to do with that.**

[Mark Favas (mark-favas)]

This _is_ a bug, not a "wouldn't-it-be-nice" wished-for feature. Network manager should have remained an optional item to install, until it had this capability. Once it became part of the standard install, useful functionality that used to be available became broken, i.e. a regression. Please fix it in Gutsy.