IPConfig

IPConfig is a command-line tool that displays the current configuration of the installed IP stack on a networked computer. Run IPConfig whenever you need to know the status of a computer's TCP/IP configuration. Start IPConfig from the command prompt rather than from Windows Explorer to see the resulting display.

Since the results fill more than one normal command prompt screen when you use the /all switch, you might wish to redirect the output to a text file which can be viewed later in Notepad. To redirect IPConfig's screen output to a text file type:

ipconfig /all > ipconfig.txt

Run IPConfig whenever you need to know the status of a computer's TCP/IP configuration. When used with the /all switch, it displays a detailed configuration report for all interfaces, including any configured wide area networks (WAN) miniports (typically used for remote access or VPN connections). The following is a sample report:

Windows 2000 IP Configuration

        Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : TESTPC1

        Primary Domain Name . . . . . . . : reskit.com

        Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid

        IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

        WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

        DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : ntcorpdc1.reskit.com

                                            dns.reskit.com

                                            reskit.com

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

        Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : dns.microsoft.com

        Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Acme XL 10/100Mb Ethernet NIC

        Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-CC-44-79-C3-AA

        DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes

        Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

        IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 172.16.245.111

        Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.248.0

        Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 172.16.240.1

        DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 172.16.248.8

        DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 172.16.55.85

                                            172.16.55.134

                                            172.16.55.54

        Primary WINS Server . . . . . . . : 172.16.248.10

        Secondary WINS Server . . . . . . : 172.16.248.9

        Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Friday, March 05, 1999 2:21:40 PM

        Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, March 07, 1999 2:21:40 PM

A number of other useful switches for IPConfig include /flushdns, which deletes the DNS name cache; /registerdns, which refreshes all Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) leases and re-registers DNS names; and /displaydns which displays the contents of the DNS resolver cache.

The /release <adapter> and /renew <adapter> options release and renew the DHCP-allocated IP address for a specified adapter. If no adapter name is specified, the DHCP leases for all adapters bound to TCP/IP are released or renewed. Table 14.5 lists all IPConfig switches.

Table 14.5 IPConfig Switches

Caution

Many of the advanced features of IPConfig must not be used on a client system without the assistance of a network administrator or support personnel. Using these commands incorrectly can cause problems with the client system's connection to the server.

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