NetworkManager was introduced in 2004 to make network configuration more flexible and dynamic. The old SystemV startup shell scripts, of which the interface configuration files were a part, were incapable of handling WiFi, wired, VPNs, broadband modems, and more—or at least incapable of doing it quickly or efficiently. In a series of articles, I’ve written about why I’m a fan of NetworkManager and how I’ve used it.

Source: LXer – How I migrated to NetworkManager keyfiles for configuration