(Partially) disable persistent network names in Linux systems using udev

Keywords: linux udev write_net_rules
Versions: openSUSE 12.2, Debian edge

Udev will automatically create a rule for each network card plugged into a computer, including USB devices. These rules can be found here:

/etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules

There is no obvious way of preventing this. The secret is that there is another set of rules hiding in /lib/udev/rules.d. Among them is:

/lib/udev/rules.d/75-persistent-net-generator.rules

When copied to /etc/udev/rules.d, this file will override its orginal in /lib/udev/rules. Removing all contents will completely disable persistent network names. To disable persistent naming of wifi cards, but leaving the ethernet setup intact, just remove the device names from the match list.