21.8 Frequently Asked Questions
In the following, nd some frequently asked questions about conguring special network
options with NetworkManager.
How to tie a connection to a specic device?
By default, connections in NetworkManager are device type-specic: they apply
to all physical devices with the same type. If more than one physical device per
connection type is available (for example, your machine is equipped with two eth-
ernet cards), you can tie a connection to a certain device.
To do so in GNOME, rst look up the MAC address of your device by using the
output of the command line tool ifconfig). Then start the dialog for conguring
network connections and choose the connection you want to modify. On the Wired
or Wireless tab, enter the MAC Address of the device and conrm your changes.
If you use KDE, start the dialog for conguring network connections and choose
the connection you want to modify. On the Ethernet or Wireless tab, use the Restrict
to Interface option to select the network interface to which to tie the connection.
How to specify a certain access point in case multiple access points with the same ESSID
are detected?
When multiple access points with different wireless bands (a/b/g/n) are available,
the access point with the strongest signal is automatically chosen by default. To
override this, use the BSSID eld when conguring wireless connections.
The Basic Service Set Identier (BSSID) uniquely identies each Basic Service
Set. In an infrastructure Basic Service Set, the BSSID is the MAC address of the
wireless access point. In an independent (ad-hoc) Basic Service Set, the BSSID is
a locally administered MAC address generated from a 46-bit random number.
Start the dialog for conguring network connections as described in Section 21.3,
“Conguring Network Connections” (page 380). Choose the wireless connection
you want to modify and click Edit. On the Wireless tab, enter the BSSID.
How to share network connections to other computers?
The primary device (the device which is connected to the Internet) does not need
any special conguration. However, you need to congure the device that is con-
nected to the local hub or machine as follows:
Using NetworkManager 393
