

But the newest naming conventions-as used by Linux distributions such as RHEL 7, CentOS 7, and the more recent releases of Fedora-have forms like eno1 and enp0s3. Such names are still used by the CentOS 6.x distribution.

Over the years, the naming conventions for Linux network interfaces have evolved from the initial simplicity of “ethX” and its derivatives. This example file defines a static IP address configuration for a CentOS 6 server installation. Here, X is the number of the interface, starting with zero or 1, depending on the naming convention that’s in use. Other files in that directory are scripts used to start, stop, and perform various network configuration tasks.Įach network interface has a configuration file named ifcfg-X. So, for example, a system running two Ethernet cards could have two devices, labeled /dev/eth0 and /dev/eth1.įor Linux, every network interface has its own configuration file, which is stored in the /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts directory. Not only do Linux desktop systems support multiple network interfaces, but they can also be used as a multi-network client or as a router for an internal network.īy convention, Linux device names are numbered, beginning at zero and counting upwards.

Laptops set up for Linux will typically include both wired and wireless interfaces, and may also support WiMax interfaces for cellular networks. Linux can support multiple devices, easily managing multiple network interface adapters. In this guide, we’ll be looking at how to configure a Linux network, with a particular focus on what’s known as multicast transactions.

Banking, record-keeping, aviation, urban infrastructure for years, such essential services have been run on the basis of Unix and its offshoots.Īs digital technology evolves, networks have been called upon to transmit increasing numbers of video, audio or data streams to multiple destinations, making the need for effective network configuration that much more critical. But Linux in its various distributions and the Unix operating system from which they derive have for decades provided the backbone for the core systems that make consumer-level computing and indeed many aspects of daily life possible. In a world where consumer-level computing technology has been largely dominated by Windows, many users remain unaware of the need for administrators to configure and maintain network hardware and environments based on the Linux operating system.
