diff --git a/README b/README index e3ac3689d8..5b21715533 100644 --- a/README +++ b/README @@ -17,46 +17,38 @@ does not try to keep a connection up as long as possible, meaning that plugging into a wired network will switch the connection to the wired network away from the wireless one. -For wireless networking support, NetworkManager keeps two lists of wireless -networks: a Trusted list, and a Preferred list. The Trusted list contains -networks the user specifically adds to it, while the preferred list contains -networks the user forces NetworkManager to connect to. For example, while the -company's wireless network and WEP/WPA key would be preloaded into the Trusted -Networks list, if the user wished to use the wireless network in a Starbucks, -the user would explicitly tell NetworkManager to associate with that network. -NetworkManager does not try to use _any_ available network in the area (a -possible security risk), but will associate with any Trusted Network first, and -Preferred Networks later. Preferred Networks are ones the user has explicitly -made NetworkManager associate with at some previous time. So if the user walks -into a Starbucks and explicitly asks NetworkManager to associate with that -Starbucks network, NetworkManager will remember the Starbucks network -information from that point on. Upon returning to that Starbucks, -NetworkManager will attempt to associate _automatically_ with the Starbucks -network since it is now in the Preferred Networks list. The point of this is to -ensure that only the user can determine which wireless networks to associate -with, and that the user is aware which networks are security risks and which -are not. +For wireless networking support, NetworkManager keeps a list of wireless +networks, the preferred list. Preferred Networks are wireless networks that +the user has explicitly made NetworkManager associate with at some previous +time. So if the user walks into a Starbucks and explicitly asks NetworkManager to associate with that Starbucks network, NetworkManager will remember the +Starbucks network information from that point on. Upon returning to that +Starbucks, NetworkManager will attempt to associate _automatically_ with the +Starbucks network since it is now in the Preferred Networks list. The point of +this is to ensure that only the user can determine which wireless networks to +associate with, and that the user is aware which networks are security risks +and which are not. + STRUCTURE: NetworkManager runs as a root-user system level daemon, since it must manipulate hardware directly. It communicates over DBUS with a -desktop-level per-user process, nm-applet. Since Trusted and Preferred -Networks are user-specific, there must be some mechanism of getting this -information per-user. NetworkManager cannot store that information as it is -user-specific, and therefore communicates over DBUS to the user daemon which -provides those lists. NetworkManager also provides an API over DBUS for any -DBUS-aware application to determine the current state of the network, including available wireless networks the computer is aware of and specific details about -those networks. This API also provides the means for forcing NetworkManager to +desktop-level per-user process, nm-applet. Since Preferred Networks are +user-specific, there must be some mechanism of getting this information +per-user. NetworkManager cannot store that information as it is user-specific, +and therefore communicates over DBUS to the user daemon which provides those +lists. NetworkManager also provides an API over DBUS for any DBUS-aware +application to determine the current state of the network, including available +wireless networks the computer is aware of and specific details about those +networks. This API also provides the means for forcing NetworkManager to associate with a specific wireless network. Use of DBUS allows separation of NetworkManager, which requires no user-interface, and the parts of the user interface which might be desktop environment specific. The nm-applet provides a DBUS service called NetworkManagerInfo, which should -provide to NetworkManager the Trusted and Preferred Networks lists upon request. -It also should be able to display a dialog to retrieve a WEP/WPA key or -passphrase from the user when NetworkManager requests it. The GNOME version of -NetworkManagerInfo, for example, stores Trusted and Preferred Networks in -GConf and WEP/WPA keys in gnome-keyring, and proxies that information to -NetworkManager upon request. - +provide to NetworkManager the Preferred Networks lists upon request. It also +should be able to display a dialog to retrieve a WEP/WPA key or passphrase from +the user when NetworkManager requests it. The GNOME version of +NetworkManagerInfo, for example, stores Preferred Networks in GConf and +WEP/WPA keys in gnome-keyring, and proxies that information to NetworkManager +upon request.