Biosdevname0

Biosdevname0 is not a widely standardized term in Linux networking. In many contexts, it may appear only as a platform- or vendor-specific reference to a biosdevname-based naming mechanism or to a particular interface labeled in logs or documentation. Because there is no official designation named “biosdevname0,” its exact meaning is typically defined by the environment in which it appears.

Background

Biosdevname is a project and set of tooling used to assign persistent names to network interfaces based on BIOS-provided information about the hardware location and type of the device. The goal is to provide stable names that survive adds, removals, and reorders of devices, improving reliability for system configuration and scripting. In practice, biosdevname works together with udev rules and distribution-specific networking policies to derive names from hardware attributes such as PCI location, device type, or firmware labels.

Usage and naming behavior

On systems that employ biosdevname, interfaces may receive names that reflect their physical or firmware characteristics rather than simple enumeration (for example, distinguishing NICs by PCI slot). In modern Linux distributions, biosdevname functionality is often part of the broader predictable network interface naming framework, with names like enp0s3 or ens33 used by default. If a reference like biosdevname0 appears, it is likely a distribution- or virtualization-specific identifier rather than a canonical Linux term, and its exact meaning should be confirmed in the local documentation or by inspecting the relevant udev rules and boot logs.

See also

Biosdevname, predictable network interface naming, udev, Linux networking.