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”.
Good lord, this is a top tier meme!
Thanks, glad you like it! I spent quite some time re-making the template from scratch in inkscape, because the original meme din’t have enough space for the text
Heck yeah, vectorised libre memes ftw!
You could have definitely gotten a longer interface name for that one example. enp0s31f6mon might be a good one lol
I often do the same for my memes. I like them high quality
I have no idea at all of what this is about but I feel strongly that OP is right and we must urgently fix this disgusting problem we are facing with the interfaces. Get em, OP, get the bastards. Solidarity
Having no idea what this is about and being on a Linux meme subreddit is absolutely peak Lemmy.
Solidarity, Reg.
Was that a terry pratchett reference?
Life of Brian
Love the explainer to the meme.
Keep up the good work!
I came here to say this. I don’t really do networking so I don’t have much care for this issue, but the clarity of the explanation was enjoyable. Plus I learned a couple of little things too.
Thanks! Memes as education material / propaganda FTW
I was going to commend you as well. Top notch. I appreciate it
It’s amazing how many linux problems stem from ‘Redhat, however, found this solution too simple and instead devised their own scheme’. Just about every over complex, bloated bit of nonsense we have to fight with has the same genesis.
What I really don’t understand is why distro maintainers feel the need to actually go along with these changes. Like, sure, if this predictable interface naming thing worked as intended, I can definitely see how it can be useful for server administrators. You could just hardcode the automatic interface names instead of assigning them manually in
/etc/mactab
. But why would the rest of us ever need this? Most personal machines have at most one wifi card and one ethernet device, sowlan0
andeth0
are perfectly predictable. And even if you have multiple wifi or ethernet adapters, your networking is probably handled by network-manager, so you never actually have to put interface names into config files. Why force enterprise-grade bloat on users who just want a simple desktop experience?As to why distro maintainers go along, if you had to vet every time the network stack updated and make sure it doesn’t break your custom solution to predictable naming, you’d probably just go along with it and let anyone that needed it devise and maintain their own solution. 99% of users won’t worry about it.
Also, make sure your password contains L’s, 1’s, 0’s and O’s in a font deliberately chosen to make them hard to tell apart.
And commas! To mess with the CSV file that it will inevitably be dumped into!
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
I somehow first read “Redhat” as “Reddit” in this sentence, and so was briefly thinking that perhaps this bad idea originated there 😂
“reddit makes a linux distro” would be hilarious and terrifying
I miss seeing this meme format on Lemmy. It’s so good, and this one is no exception.
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
Thank you very much!
To disable predictable interface naming and switch back to the old scheme, add
net.ifnames=0
andbiosdevname=0
to your boot paramets.What is the old scheme? This?
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).
Does that mean that until you name something it’s unusable?