How To Use IPConfig Commands On Windows 10

What do you know about IPConfig commands? The ipconfig is known as IP Configuration. The IPConfig is a popular Windows network command-line utility that is used to show the TCP/IP network configuration of a PC. If you’re a complete understanding of Linux, then this tool is quite similar to iPconfig. You can also use iPconfig to troubleshooting network connectivity problems. With ipconfig, you can check the types of network adapters on your PC. However, the PC’s IP address, the IP addresses of the DNS servers being used, and much more.

However, some information provided by the ipconfig command-line utility can be found through a user-friendly graphical interface. Certainly, the interface might not be available, and the command prompt is your available option. If you help desk technician or a network professional, it is suggested that you understand the command-line method of retrieving a PC network configuration, and it some cases, performing network functions.

Steps To Open Command Prompt:

If you want to use this utility, you want to launch the Command Prompt window. The three common steps to launch the Command Prompt window are:

Step 1:

Simply look for cmd using the Windows search tool.

Step 2:

Right-tap on the Start icon and choose Command Prompt.

Step 3:

Hit the keyboard combination WinKey + R, then input cmd at the Run window that appears.

Ipconfig Syntax:

ipconfig [/allcompartments] [/all] [/renew [<Adapter>]] [/release [<Adapter>]] [/renew6[<Adapter>]] [/release6 [<Adapter>]] [/flushdns] [/displaydns] [/registerdns] [/showclassid <Adapter>] [/setclassid <Adapter> [<ClassID>]]>

IPConfig Commands:

Parameter	Description
/all	Show full TCP/IP configuration information for all network adapters.
/release	Release the IPv4 address for a specified network adapter.
/release6	Release the IPv6 address for the specified network adapter.
/renew	Renew the IPv4 address for the specified network adapter.
/renew6	Renew the IPv6 address for the specified network adapter.
/flushdns	Remove the DNS Resolver cache.
/registerdns	Refreshes all DHCP leases and re-registers DNS names.
/displaydns	Show the contents of the DNS Resolver Cache.
/showclassid	Displays all the DHCP class IDs allowed for adapter.
/setclassid	Modifies the DHCP class ID.
/showclassid6	Show all the IPv6 DHCP class IDs allowed for adapter.
/setclassid6	Modifies the IPv6 DHCP class ID.
/?	Displays the list

Examples To Use IPConfig Commands:

There are lots of switches available with the ipconfig utility that will either show some information or perform some network functions. Basically, the ipconfig shows a PC’s IP address, subnet mask, and the default gateway.

ipconfig commands – Fetch Basic TCP/IP Network Info

If you want to receive basic network information from your PC, input the following in the command window then hit Enter: ipconfig

However, the output of your ipconfig commands will quite differ. Well, it depends on your network setup and the kind of network adapters installed on your PC.

• IPv4 address: 192.168.0.98
• Network subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
• Default Gateway: 192.168.0.1

Remember that unless your PC is connected directly to the network (this is rare). However, the IP address will be your local network IP, not your public external IP address.

ipconfig /all – Get All TCP/IP Network Info

Another essential switch with ipconfig is to have it get all TCP/IP network details for all network adapters on a PC. It can be done by using the /all switch. This command provides you the same basic information as ipconfig mentioned above. If you want to retrieve all internet information about your PC, input the following in the command window then hit Enter: ipconfig /all

This will display a detailed report of different network details for the PC. Also, your report will quite differ depending on your internet setup and the network adapters installed on your PC. It includes information such as:

• Make and version of your network adapter(s)
• Physical address (means MAC address or hardware address) of your adapter(s)
• Whether your IP address is leased or not ( In case if the IP is a lease that what is its expiration and the DHCP that leased it?)
• DNS servers

ipconfig /release – Releases IPv4 Address of All Specified Adapters

The switch /release will cause ipconfig to move through the network adapters you have. Or else, drop the dynamically problematic IPv4 address simply by sharing a DHCPRELEASE text to the DHCP server. Also, you need to follow the command with ipconfig /renew (mentioned below). It’ll cause your adapters to reach out to your DHCP server for an IP address. For most, run this command does not have an adverse effect on your PC.

If you want to release your IP address from your PC, input the following in the command window then hit Enter: ipconfig /release

IPConfig Commands For Release:

ipconfig /release6 – Releases IPv6 Address of All Specified Network  Adapters

The command is quite identical to ipconfig /release except it also renews the IPv6 address on the network adapters.

ipconfig /release <adapter> – Releases IPv4 Address for a Particular Network Adapters

The switch /release <adapter> will cause ipconfig to dynamically drop issued IPv4 address by sharing a DHCPRELEASE text to the DHCP server for a particular network adapter.

If you want to release the IP address for a particular network adapter on your PC named “Local Area Connection 3”. Simply input the following in the command window then hit Enter: ipconfig /release "Local Area Connection 3"

Note: if you manually assigned an IP address, then this command can’t release it.

ipconfig /renew – Receive the latest IPv4 Address for All Specified Adapters

The switch ipconfig /renew will cause your PC to reach out to your DHCP server for an IPv4 address. Just in case if it doesn’t already have one or renews the previous one for all specified adapters. However, it depends on how your DHCP server is configured or the pool of available IP addresses. Well, the IP address you will get can be one you had earlier or it can be the latest IP address. After you run this command, it takes a few seconds for a DHCP to assign your PC with an IP address.

If you want to renew the IP address of your PC, input the following in the command window then hit Enter: ipconfig /renew

ipconfig /renew <adapter> – Receive a New IPv4 Address For a Particular Network Adapter

The switch ipconfig /renew <adapter> will cause your PC to reach out to your DHCP server for an IPv4 address. Just in case if it doesn’t already have one or renews the previous one for a particular network adapter. It depends on how your DHCP server is configured or the pool of available IP addresses. However, the IP address you’ll get can be one you had earlier or it can be the latest one IP address. After you run this command, it will take a few seconds for a DHCP to assign your computer with an IP address.

If you want to renew the IP address for a network adapter on your PC named “Local Area Connection 3”. Simply input the following in the command window then hit Enter: ipconfig /renew "Local Area Connection 3". If you want to find out the name(s) of the network adapters on your PC. Try to input the following in the command window then hit Enter: ipconfig

ipconfig /all | findstr /v 00-00-00 | findstr Physical – Show MAC Address Of All Physical Connected Network Adapters

The ipconfig with the switch /all is used to search the MAC address of all external network adapters. If you have several adapters, the output can be very long making it difficult to find what you are searching for.

The Windows findstr utility is used to find patterns of text. Simply feeding the output of ipconfig /all into findstr, we can limit the clutter and have the output display only the MAC address of external network adapters. If you want to fulfil the task, enter the following in the command window then hit Enter:

ipconfig /all | findstr /v 00-00-00 | findstr Physical

However, the command is a series of 3 commands, namely:

• ipconfig /all
• findstr /v 00-00-00
• findstr Physical

The vertical bar referred to as the pipe, is a ‘command’ that takes the result from the left side of the pipe then funnel it as input to the command on the right. Simply bypassing the PC screen.

However, the above command displays the output of ipconfig /all fed into the command as findstr /v 00-00-00 its input. The command findstr with the switch /v will search for lines of a message in the output of the switch ipconfig /all that won’t contain 00-00-00. It only excludes the network adapters that are turned off or not connected. These network adapters will have a MAC address that begins with 00-00-00.

The output from the first findstr will contain any information that we filter out. Like DHCP lease information. To further limit clutter to end up with an output that displays only the MAC address of physical adapters. We want to feed the output of the first findstr into the second findstr command. This 2nd findster will checks every line of text except those that contain the word Physical.

ipconfig /displaydns – View DNS Cache

After you move to a website using its domain name (e.g., www.techilife.com), your PC wants to know the IP address for that website just to find it the server hosting it on the Internet. The process of looking for the IP address is known as the DNS lookup. When your PC learns the linked IP address for the site you like to visit, it will cache it (store it) on your PC. The caching purpose improves the performance by not having your PC perform a DNS lookup each time whenever you access a web page on that website.

This command will display all the recently cached IP addresses on your PC. In case, if you access many websites since enabling your PC, this list can be very lengthy.

To show cached DNS entries on your PC, input the following in the command window then hit Enter: ipconfig /displaydns

The information shows on the list include:

• Record Name: the name of the server or website that a DNS search was performed on
• Record Type:
  • 1 = A
  • 2 = NS (highlights the entry is a name server)
  • 5 = CNAME
  • 15 = MX (highlights the entry is an email server)
• Time to Live: the time (in seconds) before this cache entry ends
• Data Length: the length (in bytes)
  • 8 Bytes = IPv4 address
  • 16 Bytes = IPv6 address

ipconfig /flushdns – Remove DNS Cache

This command will remove the cached DNS entries on your PC. You can do this to fix DNS related issues. For example, when you want to access a website but you face an error text saying the website is not found. For most people, run this command does not have an adverse effect on your PC.

if you want to remove all the cached DNS entries on your PC, input the following in the command window then hit Enter: ipconfig /flushdns

What’s More?

The example mentioned in this guide displays some of the functions available with ipconfig. If you want to get a list of the available switches, input the following in the command window then hit Enter: ipconfig /?

Conclusion:

The ipconfig provides a lot of information for fixing network issues. This utility is a valuable resource for PC that automatically obtains an IP address. In this guide, we illustrated the IPConfig Commands List of Switches on Windows 10 with the help of examples. If you think that it is helpful then share it with your friends and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

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