Manual network config uselessly asks for a "Subnet"

[Simon Déziel]

The manual network configuration asks to provide a "subnet" as well as the "address" to be used on a given interface. With the old installer, simply providing the address along with the netmask was enough and simpler.

IMHO, the address field should accept those 2 notations:

192.168.1.202/24
192.168.1.202/255.255.255.0

[Ryan Harper (raharper)]

IMHO, typing 24 is a lot simpler than 255.255.255.0, at a min, CIDR is less typing.

But let's say a user isn't cidr/prefixlen savvy and only knows a netmask;

I think we could accept a netmask and convert to cidr in the form.

If we did convert it in the form, would the same user be confused?

[Daniel Reinhardt (cryptodan)]

Yes this was annoying. I set 255.255.255.0 and had a 192.168.1.2/24 for the address and it said that axxress wasnt found in 255.255.255.0 but obviously it is part of 192.168.1.0-255.

[Lee Azzarello (lee-rockingtiger)]

I didn't understand why the subnet field was redundant and CIDR notation throws a validation error for IP address. The D-I based network config works for all possible options so why does this new validator do anything different?

I'm suspicious of a Linux distribution targeting "servers" that would need to adapt the UI to prioritize users who don't understand IP networking notation.

[Bogdan Ilisei (znuff)]

We're on 24.04 and this is still the case.

There is absolutely no reason to be asked about subnet.

IPv4 CIDR segmentation is pretty cut and dry

For any given IP address in CIDR format, the "Network" will always be the same, no matter the environment.

For example:

# ipcalc 172.16.59.32/27

Address: 172.16.59.32 10101100.00010000.00111011.001 00000
Netmask: 255.255.255.224 = 27 11111111.11111111.11111111.111 00000
Wildcard: 0.0.0.31 00000000.00000000.00000000.000 11111
=>
Network: 172.16.59.32/27 10101100.00010000.00111011.001 00000
HostMin: 172.16.59.33 10101100.00010000.00111011.001 00001
HostMax: 172.16.59.62 10101100.00010000.00111011.001 11110
Broadcast: 172.16.59.63 10101100.00010000.00111011.001 11111
Hosts/Net: 30 Class B, Private Internet

There is absolutely no possible scenario for this .32/27's subnet to ever be anything other than "172.16.59.32".