Networking tools on Windows OS
In Windows OS it is easy to control Network settings both with user interface and command line tools. Most of the network operations could be performed using UI dialogs but in certain cases it is good to know how to use command line tools because certain operations are only available there and it may be quicker to use.
Ipconfig
Ipconfig is a powerful Windows command line tools which can perform many useful operations on network adapters. Below is a short list of most popular ipconfig operations:
- /renew – renew iPV4 address for the selected network adapter. New IP address may be assigned as a result of this operation unless computer has a static IP assigned.
- /renew6 – same as above but for iPV6 IP address.
- /release – releases iPV4 IP address. Please note that this operation will cause your computer to lose network connection until you run ipconfig /renew command.
- /flushdns – cleans local DNS resolver cache
- /registerdns – renews all DHCP IP address leases and cleans local DNS resolver cache
- /displaydns – displays current state of local DNS resolver cache
Tracert
Tracert tool shows the routing path it takes network packet to get to the destination domain.
Ping
Ping is a tool which is frequently used to check whether certain IP address is accessible from the local computer.
Route
Route tool shows a routing table used by networking software to communicate to various devices on the network. This routing table stores the optimal route to various network locations. To display routing table type:
route PRINT
For iPV4 routing table type:
route PRINT -4
Hostname
Hostname command prompt tool displays name of the current machine. You can also get the machine name by opening “Control Panel” and clicking on the “System” icon.
Nslookup
Nslookup tool displays IP address for a specified host. Nslookup tool could also be used for DNS debugging.