Automate network configurations with dispatcher scripts
Dispatcher

© Lead Image © Hannu Viitanen, 123RF.com
Use dispatcher scripts to mount a different network drive depending on the location or automatically start a VPN connection without lifting a finger.
Yesterday at a conference, today at a downtown office, tomorrow at a home office, the next day at an Internet cafe: Working life is no longer limited to a single desk. For many employees, a reliable Internet connection is all that is needed for a productive work day.
Although working from the road sounds simple, life on a laptop is often full of pitfalls and complications. On your home LAN, you will want to mount the file shares from your NAS, and on the open WiFi network of a cafe, you need a firewall to block all access. In the secure office, services that run locally are allowed to broadcast.
These different network-access use cases require continual adjustments. If a computer only connects to the network via a single wired Ethernet port, you can still mount a network drive via /etc/fstab
, or you will want to use autofs if the desired server is not always connected to the network. But to start and stop services automatically depending on the situation, or to have certain configurations created automatically, you need an intelligent network manager.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
AerynOS Alpha Release Available
With a choice of several desktop environments, AerynOS 2025.08 is almost ready to be your next operating system.
-
AUR Repository Still Under DDoS Attack
Arch User Repository continues to be under a DDoS attack that has been going on for more than two weeks.
-
RingReaper Malware Poses Danger to Linux Systems
A new kind of malware exploits modern Linux kernels for I/O operations.
-
Happy Birthday, Linux
On August 25, Linux officially turns 34.
-
VirtualBox 7.2 Has Arrived
With early support for Linux kernel 6.17 and other new additions, VirtualBox 7.2 is a must-update for users.
-
Linux Mint 22.2 Beta Available for Testing
Some interesting new additions and improvements are coming to Linux Mint. Check out the Linux Mint 22.2 Beta to give it a test run.
-
Debian 13.0 Officially Released
After two years of development, the latest iteration of Debian is now available with plenty of under-the-hood improvements.
-
Upcoming Changes for MXLinux
MXLinux 25 has plenty in store to please all types of users.
-
A New Linux AI Assistant in Town
Newelle, a Linux AI assistant, works with different LLMs and includes document parsing and profiles.
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Released with Minor Fixes
The latest Linux kernel doesn't really include any big-ticket features, just a lot of lines of code.