Integrate Proxy Settings with NetworkManager
Overview
Currently Proxy Settings are handled separately (by gnome-control-center in gnome) from NetworkManager. However, since proxy settings are connection dependent, they have to be updated as connections get (de-)activated. NetworkManager which handles that is the perfect place to do it.
Needs Addressed
It makes proxy setting configuration and its propagation to all desktop and console processes automated on a per-connection basis instead of the user setting them each time manually on connection changes.
Relevant Experience: I understand the D-BUS architecture and NetworkManager's code base. I have also thoroughly investigated how applications (of gnome, kde and terminal) seek proxy information as a first step. That said, I understand the concepts of networking and can effortlessly read and write programs in C\C++\bash.
Implementation
An NMProxyManager Gobject derivative class will be added to NetworkManager and initialized during start. This new module will expose the proxy settings over DBUS and call relevant executables to set the proxy settings, as connections get activated\deactivated. For settings, an NMSettingProxy subclass of NMSetting has to be implemented.
Timeline
- Find proxy setting propagation sources DONE!
- Get NetworkManager & build on Fedora DONE!
- Understand NetworkManager codebase DONE!
- Implement NMSettingProxy DOING!
- Implement NMProxyManager and its DBUS Interfaces
- Write dispatcher scripts (using gsettings, kwriteconfig, profile.d scripts)
- Make them build-configurable (update Makefiles)
- Test it on gnome, kde and console applications
- Send a pull request
Current Progress
- This section will be changing continuously.
Proxy Setting Propagation sources
Gnome Applications
Gnome applications use values in org.gnome.system.proxy from gsettings.
gnome-terminal goes further by setting the $PROTOCOL_PROXY variables using them for the child process.
gsettings list-recursively org.gnome.system.proxy org.gnome.system.proxy autoconfig-url '' org.gnome.system.proxy ignore-hosts ['localhost', '127.0.0.0/8'] org.gnome.system.proxy mode 'manual' org.gnome.system.proxy use-same-proxy false org.gnome.system.proxy.ftp host 'proxy.iiit.ac.in' org.gnome.system.proxy.ftp port 8080 org.gnome.system.proxy.http authentication-password '' org.gnome.system.proxy.http authentication-user '' org.gnome.system.proxy.http enabled false org.gnome.system.proxy.http host 'proxy.iiit.ac.in' org.gnome.system.proxy.http port 8080 org.gnome.system.proxy.http use-authentication false org.gnome.system.proxy.https host 'proxy.iiit.ac.in' org.gnome.system.proxy.https port 8080 org.gnome.system.proxy.socks host '' org.gnome.system.proxy.socks port 0
KDE Applications
KDE applications use kioslaverc data configured using kwriteconf.
[Proxy Settings] NoProxyFor= Proxy Config Script= ProxyType=1 ReversedException=false ftpProxy=proxy.iiit.ac.in 8080 httpProxy=proxy.iiit.ac.in 8080 httpsProxy=proxy.iiit.ac.in 8080 socksProxy=proxy.iiit.ac.in 8080
Console Applications
$PROTOCOL_PROXY variables are sourced from /etc/profile.d/ scripts.
These variables have to be set:
ALL_PROXY HTTP_PROXY HTTPS_PROXY FTP_PROXY SOCKS_PROXY NO_PROXY
all_proxy http_proxy https_proxy ftp_proxy socks_proxy no_proxy
Building NetworkManager on Fedora
Codebase: files to change
Adding NMSettingProxy
Currently doing.