network interface name (eth0, p2p1, ra0, ...)
 

Where does the network interface names come from?

Each network interface has a name,
where does these names come from?
are they in their network driver or is it assigned by the kernel?

or kernel just assign the number but the format comes from the driver? (my own guess)

The new naming convention for network interfaces is derived from:

Lan-On-Motherboard interfaces: em<port number> (ethernet-on-motherboard <1,2 ..>)

PCI add-in interfaces: p<slot number>p<port number>_<virtual function instance>

Dell has a whitepapaer on it here: http://linux.dell.com/files/whitepap...inux-v0.92.pdf

Your link http://linux.dell.com/files/whitepap...inux-v0.92.pdf appears as literally
so gives a 404. Can you supply the full link?

white papers of linux.dell.com regarding the matter
 

It's easy to figure out,
Go here and you can find, also another white paper that is related to this topic
http://linux.dell.com/files/whitepapers/

consistent_network_device_naming_in_linux.pdf