= Step 1 =
You can manually force the assignment from a network card to what device comes up as (eth0, eth1 ...), by changing the udev rules. You can manually edit this file:
This file maps MAC address to device name.
==Example==
<small>
SUBSYSTEM=="net", ACTION=="add", DRIVERS=="?*", ATTR{address}=="00:1d:60:b5:43:66", ATTR{type}=="1", KERNEL=="eth*", NAME="eth0"
If you want to reverse the assignments, switch eth0 and eth1 at the end of the entries. Or delete one of the entries.
= Step 2 =
If yo still do not have network functionality (system may boot complaining about a MAC mismatch on eth0) you You may need to also edit this configuration fileas well:
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0
if it has the MAC address for the device in it (e.g. in a variable called HWADDR). ==Example==
<small>
HWADDR=00:1d:60:b5:43:66
</small>
You will need to adjust the HWADDR to match the MAC address of the card you wish to make eth0. Note: if you wish to keep eth1 active, you will may also have to edit ifcfg-ith1 as well.
These changes will only take effect after a rebootor a restart of the network services.
'''Please exercise care. Improperly modifying these file files may render your system without network or even not boot properly.'''