Context for newbies: Linux refers to network adapters (wifi cards, ethernet cards, etc.) by so called “interfaces”. For the longest time, the interface names were assigned based on the type of device and the order in which the system discovered it. So, eth0, eth1, wlan0, and wwan0 are all possible interface names. This, however, can be an issue: “the order in which the system discovered it” is not deterministic, which means hardware can switch interface names across reboots. This can be a real issue for things like servers that rely on interface names staying the same.

The solution to this issue is to assign custom names based on MAC address. The MAC address is hardcoded into the network adaptor, and will not change. (There are other ways to do this as well, such as setting udev rules).

Redhat, however, found this solution too simple and instead devised their own scheme for assigning network interface names. It fails at solving the problem it was created to solve while making it much harder to type and remember interface names.

To disable predictable interface naming and switch back to the old scheme, add net.ifnames=0 and biosdevname=0 to your boot paramets.

The template for this meme is called “stop doing math”.

    • renzev@lemmy.worldOP
      26·
      5 months ago

      Thanks! I love this format so much. I can’t find it now, but one of my favourite memes in this genre was something like this:

      STOP DOING

      • Tasks were never meant to be completed
      • Years of working, but there’s STILL MORE SHIT TO DO
      • Wanted to get some work done anyway, for a laugh? We had a tool for that: it was called SIMULATION GAMES
      • “Please let me sacrifice a third of my life to justify my existence. Please let me spend eight hours a day working just to be able to do it again the next day” - statements dreamt up by the utterly deranged

      Look at what people have been demanding our respect for all this time, with all the schedules and todo lists we have built for them:

      These are REAL things done by REAL people

      <Pictures of gmail, microsoft outlook, and some TODO list app>

      They have played us for absolute fools