dev_alloc_name(9)

💅 dev_alloc_name(9) — like, the naming era ✨

Okay bestie, welcome to the Kernel API Manual 🎀 and specifically to dev_alloc_name(9) — the little function that hands your shiny new network device its very own name. Think of it as the kernel's baby-name book, except the names are like eth0 and eth1 and the baby is a struct. Iconic. 💖

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🌸 NAME 🌸

dev_alloc_name — allocate a name for a device 👑

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

int dev_alloc_name (struct net_device *dev , const char *name );

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🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

• dev — the device, obvs. This is the one getting named. 🫶
• name — the name format string, like the template you fill in.

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🔥 DESCRIPTION 🔥

So here's the vibe: you hand it a format string — for example "ltd" — and it goes off and tries to find a suitable id for it. Detective mode. 🔍

It scans the list of devices to build up a free map, then picks the first empty slot. First come, first served, no cap. 💅

⚠️ Real talk, bestie: the caller must hold the dev_base or rtnl lock while allocating the name and adding the device, otherwise you get duplicates. And duplicates are not the move. 😭

It's limited to bits_per_byte * page size devices — that's 32K on most platforms, iykyk.

Returns the number of the unit assigned, or a negative errno code if things go sideways. 🙈

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

Kernel file ./net/core/dev.c — and honestly the whole friend group showed up, so let's give them all their moment: 👑

• dev_add_pack(9), __dev_remove_pack(9), dev_remove_pack(9), dev_get_iflink(9), dev_fill_metadata_dst(9), netdev_napi_by_id_lock(9)
• __dev_get_by_name(9), dev_get_by_name_rcu(9), netdev_get_by_name(9), __dev_get_by_index(9), dev_get_by_index_rcu(9), netdev_get_by_index(9)
• dev_get_by_napi_id(9), netdev_get_by_index_lock(9), netdev_get_name(9), dev_getbyhwaddr_rcu(9), dev_getbyhwaddr(9), netdev_get_by_flags_rcu(9)
• dev_valid_name(9), __dev_alloc_name(9), dev_get_alias(9), netdev_features_change(9), __netdev_notify_peers(9), netdev_notify_peers(9)
• dev_disable_gro_hw(9), register_netdevice_notifier(9), unregister_netdevice_notifier(9), register_netdevice_notifier_net(9), unregister_netdevice_notifier_net(9), call_netdevice_notifiers_info(9)
• call_netdevice_notifiers_info_robust(9), call_netdevice_notifiers(9), call_netdevice_notifiers_mtu(9), dev_forward_skb(9), dev_nit_active_rcu(9), netif_setup_tc(9)
• netif_set_real_num_rx_queues(9), netif_set_real_num_queues(9), netif_set_tso_max_size(9), netif_set_tso_max_segs(9), netif_inherit_tso_max(9), netif_get_num_default_rss_queues(9)
• netif_device_detach(9), netif_device_attach(9), dev_loopback_xmit(9), __dev_queue_xmit(9), rps_flow_is_active(9), rps_may_expire_flow(9)
• __netif_rx(9), netif_rx(9), netdev_is_rx_handler_busy(9), netdev_rx_handler_register(9), netdev_rx_handler_unregister(9), netif_receive_skb_core(9)
• netif_receive_skb(9), netif_receive_skb_list(9), __napi_schedule(9), napi_schedule_prep(9), __napi_schedule_irqoff(9), netif_threaded_enable(9)
• netif_queue_set_napi(9), napi_disable(9), napi_enable(9), netdev_has_upper_dev(9), netdev_has_upper_dev_all_rcu(9), netdev_has_any_upper_dev(9)
• netdev_master_upper_dev_get(9), netdev_has_any_lower_dev(9), netdev_upper_get_next_dev_rcu(9), netdev_lower_get_next_private(9), netdev_lower_get_next_private_rcu(9), netdev_lower_get_next(9)
• netdev_lower_get_first_private_rcu(9), netdev_master_upper_dev_get_rcu(9), netdev_upper_dev_link(9), netdev_master_upper_dev_link(9), netdev_upper_dev_unlink(9), netdev_bonding_info_change(9)
• netdev_get_xmit_slave(9), netdev_sk_get_lowest_dev(9), netdev_lower_state_changed(9), netif_get_flags(9), netif_set_mtu_ext(9), netif_pre_changeaddr_notify(9)
• dev_get_phys_port_id(9), dev_get_phys_port_name(9), netif_get_port_parent_id(9), netdev_port_same_parent_id(9), netdev_change_proto_down_reason_locked(9), dev_change_xdp_fd(9)
• dev_index_reserve(9), netdev_update_features(9), netdev_change_features(9), netif_stacked_transfer_operstate(9), register_netdevice(9), register_netdev(9)
• netdev_wait_allrefs_any(9), dev_get_stats(9), dev_fetch_sw_netstats(9), dev_get_tstats64(9), netdev_sw_irq_coalesce_default_on(9), alloc_netdev_mqs(9)
• free_netdev(9), alloc_netdev_dummy(9), synchronize_net(9), unregister_netdevice_queue(9), unregister_netdevice_many(9), unregister_netdev(9)
• netdev_increment_features(9), netdev_compute_master_upper_features(9), dev_drivername(9)

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Okay that's the whole thing, mwah 💋 ngl this one's a certified classic from the ./net/core era, dated October 2026, and it lives at dev_alloc_name(9) — go name some devices, bestie, you got this 🌟💜