Network interface naming

Network interface names are based on whether the interface is a physical or virtual network interface. Physical interfaces are assigned names based on the slot number of the adapter. Interface group names are user specified. VLANs are named by combining the interface name and VLAN ID.

Physical interfaces are automatically assigned names based on the slot where the network adapter is installed. Because physical interfaces are Ethernet interfaces, they are identified by a name consisting of "e," the slot number of the adapter, and the port on the adapter (if multi-port adapter). A multiport adapter has letters or numbers imprinted next to its ports.

•	e<slot_number> if the adapter or slot has only one port

•	e<slot_number><port_letter> if the adapter or slot has multiple ports

Interface group names are user specified. An interface group's name should meet the following criteria:

•	It must begin with a letter.

•	It must not contain any spaces.

•	It must not contain more than 15 characters.

•	It must not already be in use by another interface or interface group.

VLAN interface names are in the following format:

•	<physical_interface_name>-<vlan_ID>

•	<ifgrp_name>-<vlan_ID>

The following table lists interface types, interface name formats, and example of names that use these identifiers.

Interface type	Interface name format	Examples of names
Physical interface on a single-port adapter or slot	e <slot_number>	e0 e1
Physical interface on a multiple-port adapter or slot	e <slot_number> <port_letter>	e0a e0b e0c e0d e1a e1b
Interface group	Any user-specified string that meets certain criteria	web_ifgrp ifgrp1
VLAN	<physical_interface_name>-<vlan-ID> or <ifgrp_name>-<vlan_ID>	e8-2 ifgrp1-3

Host names

When you run the setup command on a storage system for the first time, Data ONTAP creates a host name for each installed interface by appending the interface name to the host name of the storage system.

Note: The interface host names are not advertised by DDNS, but are available in the /etc/hosts file.

The following table shows examples of host names appended with the interface names.

Interface type	Host name
Single-port Ethernet interface in slot 0	toaster-e0
Quad-port Ethernet interface in slot 1	toaster-e1a toaster-e1b toaster-e1c toaster-e1d

Related concepts

Interface links for a virtual interface