Windows ipconfig command

Windows ipconfig command

The ipconfig command is a Windows utility that displays and manages a computer’s IP (Internet Protocol) configuration. It’s commonly used for troubleshooting network issues and managing network settings.

The ipconfig command is a tool to know and set the network interface configuration. With ifconfig, you can set the various properties of network interfaces, such as the IP address,
network mask, etc.

ipconfig command

ifconfig is normally used by low-level operating system scripts to configure network interfaces as the system starts up, or as transient interfaces such as wireless or USB devices are brought up and down.

Basic Usage

The general steps to use ipconfig are as follows:

Open Command Prompt.

Type ipconfig and press Enter.

 

The ipconfig command provides information about the network interfaces on your computer. The output typically includes:

IP Address: The unique address assigned to each network interface on your computer.
Subnet Mask: Defines the network portion of the IP address, used to separate the network from the host portion.
Default Gateway: The IP address of the router or gateway used to access external networks, including the Internet.

Output

ipconfig /all

This flag is used to view detailed IP and network configurations. It displays detailed information about all network interfaces, including:
MAC (Media Access Control) address.
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) status and lease information.
DNS (Domain Name System) servers.
Connection-specific DNS suffix.

ipconfig /release

Releases the current DHCP configuration for all network interfaces, effectively dropping the assigned IP addresses.

ipconfig /renew

Renews the DHCP configuration for all network interfaces, requesting a new IP address from the DHCP server.

ipconfig /flushdns

This flag is used to clear the DNS cache. It clears the DNS resolver cache, which can help resolve DNS-related issues.

 

This command is a network troubleshooting command. If you’re having trouble with your network connection, ipconfig can help you identify if there are issues with your IP address or connectivity.
DHCP Problems: If you can’t connect to the internet, releasing and renewing your IP address can sometimes resolve DHCP-related issues. DNS Problems: Flushing the DNS cache can help if you’re encountering issues with resolving domain names.

Note that the ifconfig only changes the in-memory settings of an interface, it does not change configuration files on the hard disk.