I think NetworkManager is far too strongly linked to most desktop environments, so removing the package will probably try to also pull out lots of other bits. For example, on my F36 workstation, removing NetworkManager will also remove gnome-control-center because gnome-control-center requires NetworkManager (and cannot use ifupdow or other tools):
$ sudo dnf remove \*NetworkManager\*
Dependencies resolved.
========================================================================================================================================
Package Architecture Version Repository Size
========================================================================================================================================
Removing:
NetworkManager x86_64 1:1.38.0-1.fc36 @updates 5.7 M
NetworkManager-adsl x86_64 1:1.38.0-1.fc36 @updates 40 k
NetworkManager-bluetooth x86_64 1:1.38.0-1.fc36 @updates 105 k
NetworkManager-config-connectivity-fedora noarch 1:1.38.0-1.fc36 @updates 310
NetworkManager-initscripts-ifcfg-rh x86_64 1:1.38.0-1.fc36 @updates 311 k
NetworkManager-initscripts-updown noarch 1:1.38.0-1.fc36 @updates 2.1 k
NetworkManager-libnm x86_64 1:1.38.0-1.fc36 @updates 9.3 M
NetworkManager-openconnect x86_64 1.2.8-1.fc36 @updates-testing 2.8 M
NetworkManager-openconnect-gnome x86_64 1.2.8-1.fc36 @updates-testing 151 k
NetworkManager-openvpn x86_64 1:1.8.18-1.fc36 @updates-testing 1.2 M
NetworkManager-openvpn-gnome x86_64 1:1.8.18-1.fc36 @updates-testing 370 k
NetworkManager-ppp x86_64 1:1.38.0-1.fc36 @updates 75 k
NetworkManager-pptp x86_64 1:1.2.10-1.fc36 @updates-testing 602 k
NetworkManager-pptp-gnome x86_64 1:1.2.10-1.fc36 @updates-testing 143 k
NetworkManager-ssh x86_64 1.2.12-3.fc36 @fedora 176 k
NetworkManager-ssh-gnome x86_64 1.2.12-3.fc36 @fedora 112 k
NetworkManager-vpnc x86_64 1:1.2.8-1.fc36 @updates-testing 664 k
NetworkManager-vpnc-gnome x86_64 1:1.2.8-1.fc36 @updates-testing 152 k
NetworkManager-wifi x86_64 1:1.38.0-1.fc36 @updates 313 k
NetworkManager-wwan x86_64 1:1.38.0-1.fc36 @updates 141 k
Removing dependent packages:
chrome-gnome-shell x86_64 10.1-15.fc36 @fedora 61 k
evince-nautilus x86_64 42.2-1.fc36 @updates-testing 24 k
firewall-config noarch 1.0.4-1.fc36 @updates-testing 1.1 M
gdm x86_64 1:42.0-2.fc36 @fedora 4.8 M
gnome-control-center x86_64 42.1-2.fc36 @updates-testing 20 M
gnome-initial-setup x86_64 42.1.1-1.fc36 @updates-testing 2.5 M
gnome-photos x86_64 42.0-2.fc36 @updates-testing 3.7 M
gnome-pomodoro x86_64 1:0.21.1-1.fc36 @updates-testing 6.8 M
gnome-session-wayland-session x86_64 42.0-1.fc36 @updates-testing 15 k
gnome-session-xsession x86_64 42.0-1.fc36 @updates-testing 16 k
gnome-settings-daemon x86_64 42.1-1.fc36 @updates-testing 6.0 M
gnome-shell x86_64 42.1-1.fc36 @updates-testing 9.6 M
gnome-shell-extension-appindicator noarch 42-1.fc36 @updates-testing 185 k
gnome-shell-extension-user-theme noarch 42.1-1.fc36 @updates-testing 6.9 k
gnome-tweaks noarch 42~beta-1.fc36 @updates-testing 1.3 M
libnma x86_64 1.8.38-1.fc36 @updates-testing 1.2 M
nautilus x86_64 42.1.1-1.fc36 @updates-testing 14 M
tracker-miners x86_64 3.3.0-2.fc36 @updates-testing 4.1 M
Removing unused dependencies:
colord-gtk4 x86_64 0.3.0-1.fc36 @fedora 36 k
gnome-control-center-filesystem noarch 42.1-2.fc36 @updates-testing 0
gnome-keyring x86_64 40.0-4.fc36 @fedora 3.8 M
gnome-keyring-pam x86_64 40.0-4.fc36 @fedora 32 k
gnome-online-miners x86_64 3.34.0-10.fc36 @fedora 376 k
gnome-session x86_64 42.0-1.fc36 @updates-testing 1.5 M
gnome-shell-extension-common noarch 42.1-1.fc36 @updates-testing 530 k
gnome-tour x86_64 42.0-1.fc36 @updates-testing 3.0 M
libdazzle x86_64 3.44.0-1.fc36 @updates-testing 1.2 M
libnma-gtk4 x86_64 1.8.38-1.fc36 @updates-testing 353 k
libxcvt x86_64 0.1.1-2.fc36 @fedora 19 k
malcontent x86_64 0.10.3-2.fc36 @fedora 363 k
malcontent-control x86_64 0.10.3-2.fc36 @fedora 123 k
malcontent-ui-libs x86_64 0.10.3-2.fc36 @fedora 129 k
mutter x86_64 42.1-1.fc36 @updates-testing 12 M
nm-connection-editor x86_64 1.26.0-2.fc36 @updates-testing 4.6 M
openvpn x86_64 2.5.6-1.fc36 @updates-testing 1.8 M
pipewire-gstreamer x86_64 0.3.51-1.fc36 @updates-testing 129 k
power-profiles-daemon x86_64 0.11.1-1.fc36 @updates-testing 135 k
xdg-desktop-portal-gnome x86_64 42.1-1.fc36 @updates-testing 669 k
xorg-x11-server-Xwayland x86_64 22.1.1-1.fc36 @updates-testing 2.2 M
Transaction Summary
========================================================================================================================================
Remove 59 Packages
Freed space: 131 M
Is this ok [y/N]:
So, uninstalling it is going to be a bit of an issue. What you can probably do is disable it by disabling the systemd service? That way it remains installed to satisfy the various dependencies, but it is not used.
What does it really provide? I already have ifup and ifdown on my system here—provided by NetworkManager:
$ which ifup
/usr/sbin/ifup
$ which ifdown
/usr/sbin/ifdown
$ rpm -qf /usr/sbin/ifup /usr/sbin/ifdown
NetworkManager-initscripts-updown-1.38.0-1.fc36.noarch
NetworkManager-initscripts-updown-1.38.0-1.fc36.noarch
Have you had a look at this, which specifically has examples on split DNS with a VPN?
There’s also the openvpn command on the terminal if you can use that:
$ rpm -qf /usr/sbin/openvpn
openvpn-2.5.6-1.fc36.x86_64
(ins)[asinha@thor ~]$ which openvpn
/usr/sbin/openvpn