neat creates network devices with nicknames. The initscripts uses some of the information to guess other filenames, which breaks device init.
In the is_available function in the network-functions file the network device gets modprobed with the module name. This way one can't assing specific options to an interface using "options alias module_options" notation in /etc/modules.conf If one has 2 NIC's using the same module, one can't for instance force 100Mbit FDX on one interface and 100Mbit HDX on the other because only options to the module are available. Try this setup: alias eth0 eepro100 alias eth1 eepro100 options eth0 options=48 options eth1 options=32
modprobe call fixed in 6.51-1; the use of $DEVICE/$REALDEVICE should have all been fixed in 6.40.2-1.