Tools (active and deprecated)

🟢 Modern Tools (Actively Maintained)

Tool	Manages	Status	Notes
NetworkManager	Everything	✅ Actively used	Default in Ubuntu, Fedora, Mint, etc. GUI-friendly
systemd-networkd	Interfaces only	✅ Modern + Lightweight	No GUI. Ideal for servers
iwd	Wi-Fi (only)	✅ Modern	Replaces `wpa_supplicant`
systemd-resolved	DNS	✅ Modern	Handles `resolv.conf` & caching
netplan	YAML frontend	✅ Ubuntu-specific	Configures NM or `systemd-networkd`
ConnMan	All	⚠️ Aging	Lightweight, mostly used on embedded systems
wicked	All	✅ OpenSUSE’s default	Full-featured backend

Tool/Script	OS	Status	Example Config Location
ifupdown	Debian	❌ Deprecated	`/etc/network/interfaces`
network	RHEL/CentOS	❌ Deprecated (as of RHEL 9)	`/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-*`
wpa_supplicant	All	✅ Still works but fading	Used with NM or standalone
resolv.conf (manual)	All	Still used, but mostly symlinked now	`/etc/resolv.conf`