Interface names Interfaces are now named according to the BIOS /EFI device labellabels. This is important for server-class systems which are rackmounted. In the past, "eth0", "eth1", "eth2" were hard to line up with back-panel connectors; now, if the BIOS /EFI says that the ports are labelled "network-A", "network-B", and "network-C", that's what the interface names are. If there are no names in the BIOS/EFI, embedded ports come up as emX and PCI ports come up as pXpN (PCI slot X port N).