Network Manager has been the default network configuration application for the GNOME desktop since Fedora 11. This application can be used to configure a wide variety of network devices and connections that allow you to access the Internet. Network Manager is used to configure all your network connections from wired to wireless network as well as xDSL, VPN, and mobile broadband with extended support for Bluetooth DUN. And if you don't know about DNS, DHCP or pppoe, Network Manager does it all for you. If you use your computer at home, and have an xDSL connection that is already working, you do not need to configure anything. Just connect to the wired network. With a wireless or broadband connection, the steps needed to setup them are simple and easy to do, just a few clicks and fill in your personal information.

Network Manager executes automatically when you start your session and it is visible in GNOME as the nm-applet icon on the top right of the desktop. If you move the mouse over it, it shows the active connection.

Left-clicking on the icon provides a context sensitive menu divided in three sections. The first section shows the active connection or connections along with an option to Disconnect The second section views the other available connections. Switch to one of them with a simple click and the previous one closes automatically. The VPN Connections submenu provides option to configure or disconnect to a VPN.

Right clicking on the nm-applet show another context sensitive menu that allows you to Enable Networking and if available Enable Wireless or Enable Mobile Broadband. You can also Enable Notifications as well as view the Connection Information or Edit Connections... When editing connections, Network Manager opens in a new window, in which you configure the network devices and connections. The About option provides information about the project and the people that created the application, with a link to the Project Web-Site .

Just like its GNOME counterpart, KDE provides an applet interface for NetworkManager, known as KNetworkManager. This application development was started by Novell and provides an integrated QT-based experience with similar usage and configuration as its GNOME counterpart, nm-applet.

For more information on Network Manager , you can refer to: