NetworkManager and system updates

UMTS Cards and DSL Modems

Using NetworkManager, you can also set up UMTS cards and chips, as well as DSL modems. Of course, the system must recognize the hardware; otherwise, the tabs are grayed out. Once Ubuntu identifies a UMTS card, insert the card into the USB slot, enter the PIN, and configure it using NetworkManager. DSL modems are also candidates for NetworkManager.

Click Edit Connections and choose Add on the DSL tab, connect the DSL modem to the phone jack and your computer via cable to the modem, and apply the access credentials from your Internet service provider. These will go on the DSL dialog.

Typically, you will find a long line of text among the data, including the @ character. The part before the @ is your username, and the part after it is the service name. Then, enter the passcode and change to the Wired tab, where you enter the MAC address of your network card connected to your DSL modem. The name is usually eth0. After you determine the address, open a terminal and enter:

$ /sbin/ifconfig | grep Hardware

The MAC address consists of six two-character sections separated by colons. Enter the MAC address in the field for the DSL configuration.

VPN Connections

If you want to surf securely on the Internet through a tunnel, use a virtual private network (VPN) solution such as OpenVPN, which NetworkManager also supports. Details on OpenVPN and how it works with Ubuntu are in an article in Ubuntu User issue 13, page 58-59 [5].