Subject: Re: [patch net-next rfc 3/7] net: rtnetlink: add commands to add and delete alternative ifnames

From: Stephen Hemminger <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2019 08:40:39 -0700

On Mon, 12 Aug 2019 10:31:39 +0200
Jiri Pirko <[email-masked]> wrote:

> Mon, Aug 12, 2019 at 03:37:26AM CEST, [email-masked] wrote:
> >On 8/11/19 7:34 PM, David Ahern wrote:  
> >> On 8/10/19 12:30 AM, Jiri Pirko wrote:  
> >>> Could you please write me an example message of add/remove?  
> >> 
> >> altnames are for existing netdevs, yes? existing netdevs have an id and
> >> a name - 2 existing references for identifying the existing netdev for
> >> which an altname will be added. Even using the altname as the main
> >> 'handle' for a setlink change, I see no reason why the GETLINK api can
> >> not take an the IFLA_ALT_IFNAME and return the full details of the
> >> device if the altname is unique.
> >> 
> >> So, what do the new RTM commands give you that you can not do with
> >> RTM_*LINK?
> >>   
> >
> >
> >To put this another way, the ALT_NAME is an attribute of an object - a
> >LINK. It is *not* a separate object which requires its own set of
> >commands for manipulating.  
> 
> Okay, again, could you provide example of a message to add/remove
> altname using existing setlink message? Thanks!

The existing IFALIAS takes an empty name to do deletion.