poitr pogo <lepoitr@???> wrote:

> > I thought it was stupid for other reasons, but now that you mention it,
>
> > yeah, naming it after the particular slot into which it's plugged in is
> > stupid, and if you take the box apart and move things around, you can
> > break your OS.
> >
>
> no. it is not stupid. it is the most reasonable way. one can replace a part and do not have to touch any system config.

And the flip side is that you can't move anything without the name changing. Plug the USB-[ethernet|wifi] adapter into a different orifice and it's now got a different name. Move an ethernet card because you want that slot for something different and it's now got a different name.

> device by manufactuter name or model name or serial. this is stupid.

No more or less stupid than by physical location. Eg, taking the above mentioned USB adapter - if you use it's serial number then it keeps it's name regardless of which socket it's plugged into, vs changing name depending on where it's plugged in.

As I've mentioned before, I know that the Windows guys at work have had the problem where the customer/end user plugs the backup drive into a different USB port and the backups fail. So I believe we normally tell them to leave the cable attached to the computer.


Lets face it - there is no "right" answer to this other than a system with enough intelligence to read the user/admin's mind and work out what they intend to happen - and I think we're a bit off that yet !
Looking back, I think I've "moved" something at least as often as I've replaced it with a different something in the same location - probably more in fact.