[Bug 847782] Re: installer writes a permanent ethernet entry in interfaces file

[Colin Watson]

Surely the alternative to adding an 'auto' line is that the interface
won't automatically be brought up on the first reboot after
installation?  Without NetworkManager, I think it's more likely that the
same interface is going to be in use before and after installation.

With NetworkManager, the installer *already* calls
/usr/lib/NetworkManager/ifblacklist_migrate.sh, which is supposed to
disable 'auto' lines in favour of NM.  Thus, I think Clint's comment #3
is based on some mistaken assumptions, or else is mistakenly ascribing a
network-manager bug to d-i.

I'm more than happy for this bug to remain open for discussion, but I
don't think simply removing the 'auto' line is the solution, nor do I
think that simply punting and asking the user what to do is a good
approach; and I'm going to mark this Won't Fix for oneiric as we could
easily do more harm than good by changing behaviour at this late stage.
I rather suspect that fixing this in a way that makes everyone happy
will require changes outside the installer; having to predict what
reality will be at some later point in the installer never works well.

** Changed in: netcfg (Ubuntu Oneiric)
       Status: Confirmed => Won't Fix

** Changed in: netcfg (Ubuntu Oneiric)
     Assignee: Ubuntu Installer Team (ubuntu-installer) => (unassigned)

** Changed in: netcfg (Ubuntu)
     Assignee: Ubuntu Installer Team (ubuntu-installer) => (unassigned)

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/847782

Title:
  installer writes a permanent ethernet entry in interfaces file

Status in “netcfg” package in Ubuntu:
  Confirmed
Status in “netcfg” source package in Oneiric:
  Won't Fix

Bug description:
  If Ubiquity (the installer) is ran while connected to the internet via
  ethernet, writes an "auto ethX" line in /etc/network/interfaces. This
  means that the boot up process, including bringing up the X system by
  upstart, will be delayed for whatever timeout is defined in
  /etc/init/failsafe.conf (see bug 839595). This is currently 120
  seconds.

  So far, it seems like the best solution would be for the installer to
  give the user the option to choose what to do with the interfaces file
  after finishing installation. This will also be an issue with upgrades
  to Oneiric, so the upgrade tool should probably offer the user to
  "fix" the interfaces file. In all cases, the user should be offered a
  sane default behavior.

  Please see bug #839595 for more information

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