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System Configuration

Network Time Protocol (NTP)

Section titled “Network Time Protocol (NTP)”
  • The Network Time Protocol (NTP) is the most popular and reliable protocol for setting the local time by consulting established Internet servers.
  • Linux distributions always come with a working NTP setup, which refers to specific time servers run or relied on by the distribution. This means that no setup, beyond “on” or “off”, is generally required for network time synchronization.

Screen Resolution

Section titled “Screen Resolution”
  • Ascertain your current resolution by typing at the command line:
Terminal window
xdpyinfo | grep dim

Network Manager

Section titled “Network Manager”
  • Network Manager was developed to make things easier and more uniform across distributions. It can list all available networks (both wired and wireless), allow the choice of a wired, wireless, or mobile broadband network, handle passwords, and set up Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). Except for unusual situations, it is generally best to let Network Manager establish your connections and keep track of your settings.
  • Wired connections usually do not require complicated or manual configuration. The hardware interface and signal presence are automatically detected, and then Network Manager sets the actual network settings via Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP).
  • For static configurations that do not use DHCP, manual setup can also be done easily through Network Manager. You can also change the Ethernet Media Access Control (MAC) address if your hardware supports it. The MAC address is a unique hexadecimal number of your network card.
  • Network Manager can also manage your VPN connections.
  • It supports many VPN technologies, such as native IPSec, Cisco OpenConnect (via either the Cisco client or a native open source client), Microsoft PPTP, and OpenVPN.