Chapter 9. Getting started with configuring networking using the GNOME GUI

You can configure a network interface using the following Graphical User Interface (GUI) ways:

  • the GNOME Shell network connection icon on the top right of the desktop
  • the GNOME control-center application
  • the GNOME nm-connection-editor application

9.1. Connecting to a network using the GNOME shell network connection icon

To access the Network settings, click on the GNOME Shell network connection icon in the top right-hand corner of the screen to open its menu:

Figure 9.1. The network connection icon menu

network icon

When you click on the GNOME Shell network connection icon, you can see:

  • A list of categorized networks you are currently connected to (such as Wired and Wi-Fi).
  • A list of all Available Networks that NetworkManager has detected. If you are connected to a network, this is indicated on the left of the connection name.

  • Options for connecting to any configured Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)

    and

  • An option for selecting the Network Settings menu entry.

9.2. Creating a network connection using control-center

You can create a network connection through the GNOME control-center application, which is a graphical user interface that provides a view of available network devices and their current configuration.

This procedures describes how to create a new wired, wireless, vpn connection using control-center:

Procedure

  1. Press the Super key to enter the Activities Overview, type Settings, and press Enter. Then, select the Network tab on the left-hand side, and the Network settings tool appears:

    Figure 9.2. Opening the network settings window

    network settings

  2. Click the plus button to add a new connection:

    • For Wired connections, click the plus button next to Wired entry and configure the connection.
    • For VPN connections, click the plus button next to VPN entry. If you want to add an IPsec VPN, click on IPsec based VPN and configure the connection.
    • For Wi-Fi connections, click the Wi-Fi entry on the left-hand side in the Settings menu and configure the connection.