Cannot add a vpn connection through Network Manager

What version of Ubuntu are you running? This problem is also present in the Alpha 4 of Intrepid.

I can't believe I forgot to say what version of Ubuntu I was using. :-/
Anyway, I'm using Intrepid Alpha 4. However, an update to network-manager-gnome and network-manager-openvpn today seems to have resolved this issue. I guess the feature was just not implemented yet.

I am using intrepid alpha 6 and the same bug is there, what's going up? Should I reopen?

I am experiencing the same issue with intrepid alpha 6. Unless I am missing something obvious, I believe this needs to be reopened.

Huh... I am running Alpha 6 as well and this works fine for me. I can configure a VPN connection just fine, though I don't think importing a config works (that's a separate bug). Is your problem that you cannot configure a vpn connection, or that it doesn't work once you have?

See the attached image...I am experiencing what you described above (maybe not the same bug?). That is very odd it is working fine for you. Perhaps I am missing something.

Just did a fresh upgrade to Intrepid and this problem persists in NetworkManager Applet 0.7.0.

bump

I don't see this problem with updated intrepid, at least not with openvpn. Can anyone else confirm so that bug can be closed?

The problem is definitely there and it persists for me. Again, in the VPN tab I do NOT have an active "Add" button. I have not been able to activate a VPN connection with this GUI yet.

Just as Bernhard, I am still experiencing this.

Devin

________________________________

From: <email address hidden> on behalf of Bernhard Koenig
Sent: Fri 10/17/2008 3:10 PM
To: McBride, Devin
Subject: [Bug 258185] Re: Cannot add a vpn connection through Network Manager

The problem is definitely there and it persists for me. Again, in the
VPN tab I do NOT have an active "Add" button. I have not been able to
activate a VPN connection with this GUI yet.

--
Cannot add a vpn connection through Network Manager
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/258185
You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
of the bug.

Status in "network-manager-openvpn" source package in Ubuntu: Confirmed

Bug description:
Binary package hint: network-manager-openvpn

I have installed openvpn and network-manager-openvpn, but when I click on nm-applet -> VPN Connections -> Configure VPN, the [ Add ] button is inactive, as are all the buttons in this tab. All the other nm-applet tabs (Wired, Wireless, Mobile Broadband, DSL) have active buttons. Afaict, I cannot configure a vpn with Network Manager.

Maybe there is a misunderstanding: are there any packages that I am supposed to install for this to work? There are many VPN packages, like openvpn, Cisco client vpnc, etc...

Hmmm... I have not done a fresh install since Alpha 3, but this has been working for me for a while now. Here are the packages I have installed:

~$ aptitude search openvpn | grep -e '^i'
i network-manager-openvpn - network management framework (OpenVPN plugin)
i openvpn - virtual private network daemon
i A openvpn-blacklist - list of blacklisted OpenVPN RSA shared keys

I don't think I had to fiddle with any config files, but I did turn openvpn off in my system services. Perhaps the openvpn service is conflicting with Network Manger for you?

Don't have time right now but I will try to install some VPN software later. At the moment I don't have any VPN package installed and the "Add" button is not active.

Let me ask again: am I supposed to have extra packages installed or am I supposed to have extra packages NOT installed? If that GUI requires extra packages, it would be good if it simply suggests to install them (like extra codes in totem for example).

Btw, this is what I get in the shell if I switch to the VPN tab:

(nm-connection-editor:9695): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_hash_table_foreach: assertion `hash_table != NULL' failed
** Message: nm_connection_list_new: failed to load VPN plugins: Couldn't read VPN .name files directory /etc/NetworkManager/VPN.

OK, another EDIT: you can install network-manager-openvpn and then the "Add" button becomes active and everything seems to work.

Sorry for the misunderstanding but I had no idea that you had to install that package, I always used the Cisco client. May I say in this situation that it would be nice if the "Add" button were always active and would automatically suggest to install the packages

network-manager-openvpn
openvpn
openvpn-blacklist

(whenever I click on "Add" and the packages are not yet installed.)

Well, at least a grayed message in the big empty area of the tab should tell the user to install some packages, but definitely suggesting and automatically installing packages as for languages, browser plugins and media codecs, would be more "just works".

I'm glad you have things sorted, and I think you suggestion is a good one. We are obviously way beyond feature freeze for Intrepid, but this feedback can be considered for Jaunty (Ubuntu 9.04). I will file a separate enhancement bug.

Devin McBride, are you still seeing this behaviour and if so do you have all the required packages installed?

Ok, the enhancement you requested was already filed in Bug #273932
https://bugs.edge.launchpad.net/bugs/273932

I was also able to find resolution by installing the below packages. I had wrongly made the assumption that vpn was part of the out of box experience - I'm kicking myself for not seeing the obvious now though.

I do think this would be a welcomed addition in the future especially for users like myself who are just not picking up linux.

Thank you for your help,
Devin

________________________________

From: <email address hidden> on behalf of Pete Goodall
Sent: Tue 10/21/2008 7:19 AM
To: McBride, Devin
Subject: [Bug 258185] Re: Cannot add a vpn connection through Network Manager

I'm glad you have things sorted, and I think you suggestion is a good
one. We are obviously way beyond feature freeze for Intrepid, but this
feedback can be considered for Jaunty (Ubuntu 9.04). I will file a
separate enhancement bug.

Devin McBride, are you still seeing this behaviour and if so do you have
all the required packages installed?

--
Cannot add a vpn connection through Network Manager
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/258185
You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
of the bug.

Status in "network-manager-openvpn" source package in Ubuntu: Confirmed

Bug description:
Binary package hint: network-manager-openvpn

I have installed openvpn and network-manager-openvpn, but when I click on nm-applet -> VPN Connections -> Configure VPN, the [ Add ] button is inactive, as are all the buttons in this tab. All the other nm-applet tabs (Wired, Wireless, Mobile Broadband, DSL) have active buttons. Afaict, I cannot configure a vpn with Network Manager.

Pete, thank you for clarifying the issue. I think that for intrepid there is still time to add some greyed-out message to the interface that says "to enable the add button, please install the packages x,y,z". Users will think that "vpn is broken" when they see the dialog that way. At worst, this can be done in the tooltip of the disabled "add" button.