Fedora

Here is list of all functions which should network backend provide

Basic

what	where
Set IP address, netmask, gateway, DNS server, MAC, routes, DHCP, MTU etc. (for each interface)	/etc/sysconfig/network/* & NetworkManager
Set the hostname	/bin/hostname
Set parameters of network hardware
Set known hosts	/etc/hosts

Please comment
If you don't agree with proposed functionality or have something to add, share it with us in Talk:SystemConfig/network/backend