Fedora 15 Changes Network Device Naming Scheme 132
dkd903 writes "Fedora developer Matt Domsch has announced that Fedora 15 is breaking the conventional ethX naming scheme used for Ethernet devices by adopting a new scheme called Consistent Network Device Naming. The ethX naming scheme works fine as long as the system has only one Ethernet port. However if there are more than one Ethernet ports, the actual problem starts."
Re:False (Score:5, Informative)
Actually, it doesn't. The interfaces can be named the same on reboot, but the initial numbering is semi-random.
The problem arises when you're trying to deploy a large number of machines, and you know which devices are where on the PCI buses (modern servers are coming with 4 Ethernet ports on the motherboard now). That way, you can assign VLANs and IPs to specific ports in a kickstart file and the installer doesn't have to play the "which interface is eth1" game. Which is not fun. We should not be relying on automagic configuration for something as basic as ethernet...
<rant>this is why I don't like the /dev/sd* interfaces in Linux - you have to dig deep into /proc to find out which port SATA and SAS devices are on</rant>
This doesn't get into crappy BIOSes that enumerate devices badly, or NICs that have a bad habit of initializing late.
Re:Does this mean.... (Score:3, Informative)
You should use LLDP a protocol for discovering what iface is connected to what port on the switch. There is an lldpd available for pretty much all distros.
Re:Article is a joke and false (Score:5, Informative)
With the existing system, if you wipe the disk and reinstall, will the interface names always be the same? It sounds like that is what they are trying to ensure. It could be helpful for frequently re-imaged machines and for diagnostics.