As of the most recent evaluations involving a standard GNOME setup switching from NetworkManager to Wicked, a notable concern has emerged: the network framework ceases to function correctly.
If system updates have been carried out, users are encouraged to delay further updates for now. However, for those who have already updated, utilizing Snapper to revert to a previous state is recommended. It’s crucial to recognize that while this issue predominantly impacts GNOME setups with Wicked, it can also have repercussions on servers lacking these elements.
Since at least the 20240825 Tumbleweed build, this problem has been consistently replicable. Bind 9.20.1 underwent an update involving modifications to DNS query management and system controls, which might have unintentionally contributed to the network stack dilemma.
The fundamental cause seems to stem from a race condition occurring between Wicked and the D-Bus system, resulting in the network stack failing to initialize correctly. Upon Wicked’s activation, it encounters challenges in communicating with D-Bus, leading to the breakdown of various interconnected network services.
System records indicate that at the time of initialization, D-Bus is either not fully operational or not acknowledged by Wicked, triggering a chain of malfunctions across services like DHCP and AutoIPv4.
In many instances, this series of occurrences renders the network stack of the rolling release inoperative, often necessitating a manual reboot to reinstate network functionality.
To combat this issue, initial actions are concentrating on adjusting the service dependencies within the systemd service files. One potential resolution involves introducing After=dbus.service into the Wicked service configuration. Nonetheless, this alteration alone may not prove to be entirely effective in all scenarios.
Additional research is leading to the proposal of further solutions. The problem seems to extend beyond Wicked, potentially impacting other services and hinting at broader implications for the initialization procedures of the system.
The migration from NetworkManager to Wicked in certain setups has brought to light the critical race condition affecting the commencement of the network stack. While recent enhancements to the systemd service setups have notably alleviated the problem, ongoing testing and refinements are crucial to establish consistent network performance. Users are advised to utilize snapper’s rollback feature to uphold proper network stack initialization.
(Artwork created using DALL-E)
