Changes/NetworkScriptsRemoval

Guidance
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Removing network-scripts package

This is a proposed Change for Fedora Linux.
This document represents a proposed Change. As part of the Changes process, proposals are publicly announced in order to receive community feedback. This proposal will only be implemented if approved by the Fedora Engineering Steering Committee.

Summary

We are planning to remove the network-scripts package from Fedora 41. By removing the package, we are also removing support for legacy network scripts that have been deprecated since 2018.

Owner

• Name: Jan Macku
• Name: Lukáš Nykrýn

• Email: jamacku@redhat.com
• Email: lnykryn@redhat.com

Current status

• Targeted release: Fedora Linux 41
• Last updated: 2024-05-20
• [<will be assigned by the Wrangler> devel thread]
• FESCo issue: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>
• Tracker bug: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>
• Release notes tracker: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>

Detailed Description

We plan to remove the network-scripts package from Fedora 41. It provides legacy ifup/ifdown scripts as well as network.service.

The network-scripts were deprecated in 2018, and since then, upstream has provided only limited support.

The main reason for removing network-scripts is that ISC dhcp has not been maintained upstream since the end of 2022. There is plan to remove it upcoming Fedora release. Network scripts heavily depend on the DHCP client, and since Network Scripts are no longer developed, there is no chance of updating them to use an alternative client.

Benefit to Fedora

Removing the old network-scripts package in Fedora streamlines the system, ensuring that users have a unified and modern network management experience with NetworkManager. This change reduces maintenance overhead and enhances security by eliminating outdated components. Additionally, it simplifies networking tasks for users and administrators, providing a consistent and robust set of tools across Fedora environments.

Scope

• Proposal owners:

• Other developers:

• Release engineering: #Releng issue number

• Policies and guidelines: N/A (not needed for this Change)

• Trademark approval: N/A (not needed for this Change)

• Alignment with Community Initiatives:

Upgrade/compatibility impact

Old ifcfg network configuration should still work thanks to NetworkManager-initscripts-ifcfg-rh package. No migration is needed, but it is recommended to migrate from ifcfg to keyfiles configuration.

You can use one of the following articles on how to migrate:

• https://fedoramagazine.org/converting-networkmanager-from-ifcfg-to-keyfiles/
• https://opensource.com/article/22/8/migrate-networkmanager-keyfiles-configuration

Dependencies

RPM packages that depends in some form on network-scripts:

• libteam - https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2262986
• NetworkManager - https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2275295
• openvswitch - https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2262982
• ppp - https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2262981

Note that this will also affect all users with local custom network-scripts that require functionality from network-scripts package.

Contingency Plan

• Contingency mechanism: Since dhcp client is no longer maintained and is going to be deprecated in Fedora, there is currently no contingency mechanism.
• Contingency deadline: beta freeze
• Blocks release: No

Documentation

• Upstream Deprecation notice - https://github.com/fedora-sysv/initscripts/commit/b748244cf9905696baf1bc16e0432f85093414c2