Interfaces may be created for applications on a network element without requiring the applications to include code specific for that type of interface. An Interface Management System (IMS) may be included to provide a media abstraction layer between applications and physical media to enable interfaces to be bound to applications without modifying the application to accommodate the interface and without modifying the interface to accommodate the application. The IMS also provides an environment to support distributed interface creation to enable interfaces to be created in a distributed fashion to avoid congestion in the IMS and to facilitate sparing of the IMS and interfaces. The interfaces communicate with applications and with each other through an IFID manager to streamline communications, and to enable the IMS to keep track of the interfaces that have been created on the network element.