The ipconfig Commands You Need to Know

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The ipconfig command is a powerful utility that every Windows user should know. It can also be used to diagnose network problems and help troubleshoot issues. For those who are unfamiliar with this tool, it’s time to get acquainted with the ipconfig commands you need for your computer or device.

The “what is ipconfig” is a command-line tool that allows users to view and configure their computer’s network settings. The commands that you need to know are “ipconfig /all”, “ipconfig /release”, “ipconfig /renew”, and “ipconfig /flushdns”.

The ipconfig Commands You Need to Know

Despite the fact that the ipconfig command has been around for a long time, most people are unaware of what it does and how it works. We’ll fix that in this Nugget by learning how to use the ipconfig command and how it may assist you manage your DHCP and DNS client setup.

Let’s get started.

Prerequisites

There aren’t many requirements for using the ipconfig command. You’re set to go as long as you have a current version of Windows. This Nugget also assumes that you’re using a Windows system with a DHCP-assigned IP address and DNS client settings.

IPConfig Commands for Viewing Basic IP and DNS Settings

The simplest ipconfig command is to execute it without any arguments. Run ipconfig from a command prompt or PowerShell terminal on your system. You’ll see a list of all the network interface cards (NICs) on your system, as well as basic IP information.

Make a mental note of the NIC’s name. Ethernet is the name of the NIC in the screenshot below.

Basic IP information may be seenBasic IP information may be seen

When you run the ipconfig /all command, you’ll get a lot more information, including each NIC’s DHCP setup and DNS servers.

Viewing all IP and DNS settingsViewing all IP and DNS settings

Getting a Glimpse into the DNS Resolver Cache

ipconfig /displaydns is another frequent ipconfig command. You may use this command to locate anything in your local DNS resolver cache as well as everything in your C:WindowsSystem32etcdrivershosts file.

Examining the cache of the DNS resolverExamining the cache of the DNS resolver

When debugging name resolution difficulties, the /displaydns switch comes in handy!

Getting Rid of the DNS Resolver’s Cache

Items you’d prefer to delete are sometimes cached by the DNS resolver cache. Using ipconfig /flushdns, you may delete the DNS resolver cache of all objects. When troubleshooting, this command is beneficial for removing any negative cache entries.

Getting Rid of the DNS Resolver's CacheGetting Rid of the DNS Resolver’s Cache

Using the IPconfig Command to Start a Dynamic DNS Registration

It’s possible that you’ll need to manually register for dynamic DNS and renew your DHCP releases. Use ipconfig /registerdns in such scenario. This ipconfig command may help you solve DNS name registration difficulties without having to restart your computer.

Resolve-DnsName: Using PowerShell to Resolve DNS Names

Make sure you’re using an elevated terminal to run the /registerdnsswitch command.

Getting a Dynamic DNS Registration StartedGetting a Dynamic DNS Registration Started

DHCP-Assigned IPs Release and Renewal

The release and renewal of a dynamically allocated (DHCP) IP address is one of the most used ipconfig procedures. You may either release a DHCP address by executing ipconfig /release, which will release all TCP/IP-bound NICs.

DHCP address for the Ethernet NIC is being released.DHCP address for the Ethernet NIC is being released.

Do you have many NICs with the same name? It’s no issue. Use a wildcard (*) instead of a regular expression.

Obtaining a DHCP address for all NICs that begin with the letter EthObtaining a DHCP address for all NICs that begin with the letter Eth

On every ipconfig command that enables you to enter a NIC’s name, you may use wildcards for the NIC name. A? may also be used to signify a single character that has to be matched.

After the IP has been released, you must get a new one from your DHCP server. To do so, use ipconfig /renew to renew all NICs or ipconfig /renew to renew a single NIC.

Obtaining a fresh DHCP lease for each of the NICsObtaining a fresh DHCP lease for each of the NICs

Quick tip: You can release and renew dynamically-assigned IP addresses on the same line using double ampersands like ipconfig /release && ipconfig /renew.

You may also use the /release6 and /renew6 arguments to restrict the releasing and renewing of IPv6 NICs.

Note the /showclassid, /setclassid, and /allcompartments arguments in ipconfig. These parameters aren’t addressed in this Nugget since they’re considered legacy and you’ll only utilize them on rare occasions (if at all).

The “ipconfig /release command” is a command that allows users to release an IP address. This is useful when you are in a situation where you need to connect from multiple devices, or if your computer has multiple interfaces.

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