IFRENAME man page on Archlinux

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IFRENAME(8)		   Linux Programmer's Manual		   IFRENAME(8)

NAME
       ifrename - rename network interfaces based on various static criteria

SYNOPSIS
       ifrename [-c configfile] [-p] [-d] [-u] [-v] [-V] [-D] [-C]
       ifrename [-c configfile] [-i interface] [-n newname]

DESCRIPTION
       Ifrename	 is a tool allowing you to assign a consistent name to each of
       your network interface.

       By default, interface names are dynamic, and each network interface  is
       assigned	 the  first available name (eth0, eth1...).  The order network
       interfaces are created may vary. For built-in  interfaces,  the	kernel
       boot  time  enumeration may vary. For removable interface, the user may
       plug them in any order.

       Ifrename allow the user to decide what name a  network  interface  will
       have.  Ifrename can use a variety of selectors to specify how interface
       names match the network interfaces  on  the  system,  the  most	common
       selector is the interface MAC address.

       Ifrename	 must  be  run	before interfaces are brought up, which is why
       it's mostly useful in various scripts (init,  hotplug)  but  is	seldom
       used  directly  by  the	user. By default, ifrename renames all present
       system interfaces using mappings defined in /etc/iftab.

PARAMETERS
       -c configfile
	      Set the configuration file to be used (by	 default  /etc/iftab).
	      The  configuration file define the mapping between selectors and
	      interface names, and is described in iftab(5).
	      If configfile is "-", the configuration is read from stdin.

       -p     Probe (load)  kernel  modules  before  renaming  interfaces.  By
	      default  ifrename	 only  check  interfaces  already  loaded, and
	      doesn't auto-load	 the  required	kernel	modules.  This	option
	      enables  smooth  integration  with  system  not  loading modules
	      before calling ifrename.

       -d     Enable various Debian specific hacks.  Combined  with  -p,  only
	      modules  for  interfaces specified in /etc/network/interface are
	      loaded.

       -i interface
	      Only rename the specified interface as opposed to all interfaces
	      on the system. The new interface name is printed.

       -n newname
	      When  used  with	-i, specify the new name of the interface. The
	      list of mappings from the configuration file  is	bypassed,  the
	      interface specified with -i is renamed directly to newname.  The
	      new name may be a wildcard containing a single '*'.
	      When used without -i, rename interfaces by using	only  mappings
	      that  would  rename  them to newname.  The new name may not be a
	      wildcard. This use of ifrename is discouraged,  because  ineffi‐
	      cient (-n without -i).  All the interfaces of the system need to
	      be processed at each invocation, therefore in most  case	it  is
	      not  faster  than	 just  letting	ifrename  renaming all of them
	      (without both -n and -i).

       -t     Enable name takeover support. This allow interface name swapping
	      between two or more interfaces.
	      Takeover	enable	an  interface  to  'steal' the name of another
	      interface. This works only with kernel 2.6.X and	if  the	 other
	      interface	 is  down.  Consequently,  this is not compatible with
	      Hotplug. The other interface is assigned a random name, but  may
	      be renamed later with 'ifrename'.
	      The  number of takeovers is limited to avoid circular loops, and
	      therefore some complex multi-way name  swapping  situations  may
	      not be fully processed.
	      In  any  case, name swapping and the use of this feature is dis‐
	      couraged, and you are invited to choose unique  and  unambiguous
	      names for your interfaces...

       -u     Enable  udev  output  mode.  This	 enables proper integration of
	      ifrename in the udev framework, udevd(8) will  use  ifrename  to
	      assign  interface names present in /etc/iftab.  In this mode the
	      output of ifrename can be parsed	directly  by  udevd(8)	as  an
	      IMPORT action. This requires udev version 107 or later.

       -D     Dry-run  mode. Ifrename won't change any interface, it will only
	      print new interface name, if applicable, and return.
	      In dry-run mode, interface name wildcards are not resolved.  New
	      interface	 name  is  printed,  even if it is the same as the old
	      name.
	      Be also aware that some selectors can only be read by root,  for
	      example  those  based on ethtool), and will fail silently if run
	      by a normal user. In other words, dry-run mode under a  standard
	      user may not give the expected result.

       -V     Verbose  mode. Ifrename will display internal results of parsing
	      its configuration file and querying  the	interfaces  selectors.
	      Combined	with  the  dry-run option, this is a good way to debug
	      complex configurations or trivial problems.

       -C     Count matching  interfaces.  Display  the	 number	 of  interface
	      matched, and return it as the exit status of ifrename.
	      The  number  of interfaces matched is the number of interface on
	      the system for which a mapping was  found	 in  the  config  file
	      (which is different from the number of interface renamed).

AUTHOR
       Jean Tourrilhes - jt@hpl.hp.com

FILES
       /etc/iftab

SEE ALSO
       ifconfig(8), ip(8), iftab(5).

wireless-tools		       26 February 2007			   IFRENAME(8)
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