So here we are again. Kernel upgrade, then reboot => no network. Last week a kernel upgrade borked my network again, and it took a while before I remembered that I needed the r8168 module (see last posting).
Today it happened again. So I think to myself "There must be a better way." It turns out there is: It is called DKMS, the "Dynamic Kernel Module Support". Essentially it works by registering the module for rebuild whenever the kernel is upgraded.