Networking

WiFi with iwd

The laptop uses iwd (iNet Wireless Daemon) instead of wpa_supplicant or NetworkManager:

networking.wireless.iwd = {
  enable = true;
  settings = {
    general = {
      EnableNetworkConfiguration = true;
      AddressRandomization = "network";
    };
    network = {
      NameResolvingService = "resolvconf";
    };
  };
};

Configuration Details

Setting	Value	Effect
EnableNetworkConfiguration	true	iwd handles DHCP directly (no NetworkManager needed)
AddressRandomization	"network"	MAC address is randomised per network SSID
NameResolvingService	"resolvconf"	DNS resolution via resolvconf

MAC Randomisation

The "network" randomisation mode generates a persistent random MAC for each SSID. This means:

• You get a different MAC on every network you connect to.
• The MAC is stable for a given SSID (so DHCP leases persist).
• Your hardware MAC is never exposed on the air.

Why iwd over NetworkManager?

iwd is leaner (single binary, no D-Bus dependency for basic operation) and handles network configuration natively without needing a separate DHCP client.

IPv6

IPv6 is disabled:

networking.enableIPv6 = false;

WiFi Management

The impala TUI is included in packages for interactive WiFi management:

impala  # Launch WiFi TUI

For command-line management, use iwctl directly:

iwctl station wlan0 scan
iwctl station wlan0 get-networks
iwctl station wlan0 connect "SSID"