Command Line Tips: ipconfig

One of the most handy command line tools you can have in Windows is ipconfig. As it sounds, ipconfig is a tool that manages all things IP Address.

The most simplistic method of using the command provides basic IP configuration with IP netmask and gateway.

C:\Documents and Settings\Aaron>ipconfig

Windows IP Configuration

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

        Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : emmense.com
        IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.105
        Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
        Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

You can get more complex with a much more detailed readout by adding the /all switch on the end:

C:\Documents and Settings\Aaron>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

        Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : brazhome
        Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . :
        Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
        IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
        WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
        DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : emmense.com

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

        Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : emmense.com
        Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VIA Compatable Fast Ethernet Adapter

        Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0C-76-3A-1B-DF
        Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
        Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
        IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.105
        Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
        Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
        DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
        DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 68.87.73.242
                                            68.87.71.226
        Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, April 08, 2006 6:56:30 PM
        Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, April 09, 2006 6:56:30 PM

Finally, you can disable a network device with the /release switch which instructs a network device to give up it’s IP address (thuis disabling it):

C:\Documents and Settings\Aaron>ipconfig /release

Windows IP Configuration

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

        Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
        IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0
        Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0
        Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

What good is a network connection without an IP address though? Instruct your NIC to reacquire an IP address with the /renew switch:

C:\Documents and Settings\Aaron>ipconfig /renew

Windows IP Configuration

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

        Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : emmense.com
        IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.105
        Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
        Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

And of course, don’t forget about the trick. :-)