Tethering interface

[GenghisKhan]

Previous summary: Bluetooth interface: bnep0

bnep0 is the name of Bluetooth interface.

The suggestion is as follows:

Adding more network interface or adding an ability to add more than two fields of network interface (currently Wireless and Wired).

I am using a wired interface (eth0) most of the time and it is cumbersome for me to switch every now and then the Wired interface field from eth0 to bnep0 and from bnep0 to eth0, which is easier than using # dhclient bnep0.

You can use icons from the Blueman project to be displayed when the bnep0 interface is available.
/usr/share/icons/hicolor/scalable/apps/blueman.svg

[GenghisKhan (genghiskhan)]

Please add a field for Bluetooth or a custom Interface field, so that users would not need to rename eth0 (Ethernet) to bnep0.

[Pieter Leclerc (pieterleclerc-deactivatedaccount)]

Where do you see this in the interface?

For instances, under "Preferences", where the wireless and the wired interface is listed, add a third option for the Bluetooth?

[GenghisKhan (genghiskhan)]

> Where do you see this in the interface?

In ifconfig, after clicking on Connect to/Network Access Point (ex. iPhone device) in Blueman.

> For instances, under "Preferences", where the wireless and the wired interface is listed, add a third option for the Bluetooth?

Yes, but it may be hidden and appear automatically when bnep0 is discovered, if bnep0 or bnep* is how all Bluetooth Internet Tethering services are realized.

Until there would be a one-click-ed way to connect to Network Access Point service, by Blueman, I suppose, I suggest to add a balloon notification says "Bluetooth Network Access Point is available" with a "Connect" button on that balloon OR adding a check-box in preferences "Prefer Bluetooth Network Access Point".

[GenghisKhan (genghiskhan)]

- OR adding a check-box in preferences "Prefer Bluetooth Network Access Point".
+ OR adding a check-box in preferences "Auto-connect to Bluetooth Network Access Point when discovered".

[Pieter Leclerc (pieterleclerc-deactivatedaccount)]

In general, this feature request is about adding support for a separate Bluetooth interface configuration.

From an end user perspective, I think the proposal below would be quite consistent with the current way it works:

1) Make the Bluetooth interface name ("bnep0", in your example) configurable. For this, I would propose to add a configuration textbox "Bluetooth interface:" under the existing textbox "Wired interface:" where you can fill in "bnep0" if that's your primary bluetooth interface.

2) Then indeed, under the checkbox for the option "Always switch to a wired connection when available", add a check-box "Always switch to a Bluetooth connection when available".

3) In the main network list, show a section "Bluetooth Network", underneath and similar to the existing "Wired Network", above the list of wireless networks that have been found.

One could argue that there are more generic, less verbose ways of configuring the list of interfaces and their priorities. In theory, this would be even nicer to have, but will probably require more coding work (or something for wicd 2.0)?

[GenghisKhan (genghiskhan)]

The following proposition, which is not a good solution, involves a Bluetooth Manager and Wicd:

* Add to Blueman an option that would execute a command after establishing Network Access Point, but then it would be necessary to do so with Bluetooth Manager of KDE and others, so this proposition is too specific and is not good.

* Add to Wicd a Command Line argument that would add a custom interface.

Thinking...

Please use --wireless or --wired to specify the type of connection to operate on.

 --bluetooth bnep0 (it is as if I write --custom custom0, not good)

Failed to think.

[GenghisKhan (genghiskhan)]

Please see the following resources:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Android_Tethering
http://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Android_USB_Tethering

> You can use icons from the Blueman project to be displayed when the bnep0 interface is available.
/usr/share/icons/hicolor/scalable/apps/blueman.svg

Instead, you can use one of these icons:
insert-link (better without "arrow" part)
network-cellular-connected (better without "arrows" part)
phone (seems like best choice, as long as it looks like a cellular phone in othere themes)
preferences-system-sharing

All above icons are included in gnome-icon-theme.

[GenghisKhan (genghiskhan)]

A note I want to post:

$ wicd-cli
Please use --wireless or --wired or --tether to specify the type of connection to operate on.
No operations performed.