Hello there,

so i decided to switch to Slackware because i wanted better control over my system as well as a deeper understanding on how Linux works.
That's why i'm reading the Slackbook as a reference for all configurations that need to be done.
I'm now at Network Configuration chapter and wanted to activate the Kernel module loading my ethernet card driver.
Slackbook suggests to uncomment the relevant device in the /etc/rc.d/rc.modules file. Since my device was not listed there and "netconfig" did not create the /etc/rc.d/rc.netdevice file i was sure that my ethernet network card is not recognized by the Kernel. The same goes with the Wlan configuration.
But now comes the twist:
If i start the x server with startx and load my KDE environment the ethernet as well as the wlan work flawlessly out of the box. How is this possible and where does the right device driver suddenly come from?
Do not get me wrong i do not want to be ungrateful that my network actually works but i would really love to know why!

Regards and thanks in advance for the fast answers!

Hello and welcome to SlackLand,

the slackbook is slightly outdated on that respect: nowadays most network cards and wireless adapters are automatically recognized and the relevant modules automatically loaded at boot. Therefore the netconfig script no more creates a rc.netdevice file[1] as that task is performed by udev: in other words the card detection and loading of the relevant module is done by udev. But yes your ethernet network card is recognized, else you couldn't get a connection. The same goes for the wireless adapter.

This is easy to check: as root, type:Also, a new configuration option "NetworkManager" is now available in netconfig, that comes handy because it can manage wireless connections in addition to wired ones. Probably that's what you rightly chose, that's why ethernet as well as the wlan work flawlessly out of the box.

[1]It can still, probing for network cards, but only if you uncomment the line that just contains "DONOTPROBE=true". I guess that few people need to do that nowadays.

There is better documentation nowadays, in the SlackDocs Project: http://docs.slackware.com/slackware:...e_your_network

Thanks for the fast response! I will retrieve my information from the online documentation from now on. The explanation with udev was a great addition for further informations. Keep up the good work!