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    EL 10: Keyfile-only networking

    On EL 10, /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ is finally history: NetworkManager’s ifcfg-rh plugin is gone along with the scripts, and the keyfile format (.nmconnection) is the only connection configuration left. The biggest impact lands on automation, machine images, and runbooks that still write ifcfg files by hand.

    What changed

    Section titled “What changed”

    NetworkManager has long supported two on-disk formats for connections:

    • ifcfg: sysconfig-style files (ifcfg-eth0) read and written by the ifcfg-rh plugin — the default in EL 7 and earlier;
    • keyfile: INI-style files under /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/, named like eth0.nmconnection, usually with 600 permissions.

    EL 9 already made keyfiles the default for new connections and deprecated ifcfg while still reading it. EL 10 removes the ifcfg-rh plugin altogether: NetworkManager no longer recognizes anything under /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/. Leftover ifcfg files do not produce errors — they are silently ignored, so a connection falls back to auto-generated settings or simply does not appear.

    Keyfiles can express everything ifcfg could (bonding, bridges, VLANs, static routes) plus what it never could (WireGuard, for example).

    EL 9 vs EL 10

    Section titled “EL 9 vs EL 10”
    ItemEL 9EL 10
    Default format for new connectionskeyfilekeyfile
    ifcfg read/writedeprecated but supportedremoved
    /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/still readignored
    Migration toolnmcli connection migratesame — but run it before upgrading

    What it means for you

    Section titled “What it means for you”
    • Unaffected: machines managed through nmcli, nmtui, or Cockpit — those have always written keyfiles.
    • Affected:
      • Kickstart, Ansible, and cloud-init templates that drop ifcfg files;
      • inspection scripts that grep DEVICE= out of /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-*;
      • old machine images whose only network configuration is ifcfg.

    Checking and migrating

    Section titled “Checking and migrating”
    Show the on-disk format of every connection
    nmcli -f connection.id,connection.filename connection show

    Entries ending in .nmconnection are keyfiles; anything pointing at /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ is ifcfg.

    Convert leftover ifcfg files to keyfiles in one step
    sudo nmcli connection migrate
    sudo systemctl reload NetworkManager
    1. Run the check on every machine before the upgrade (fold it into your fleet audit);
    2. Convert with nmcli connection migrate;
    3. Change templates and scripts that ship ifcfg files to nmcli connection add / modify, or ship keyfiles directly;
    4. After the upgrade, confirm every connection.filename points into system-connections/.

    Further reading

    Section titled “Further reading”