This directory of Linux commands is from Linux in a Nutshell, 5th Edition.
Click on any of the 687 commands below to get a description and list of available options. All links in the command summaries point to the online version of the book on Safari Bookshelf.
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ifconfig
ifconfig [interface] ifconfig [interface address_family parameters addresses]
TCP/IP command. Assign an address to a network interface and/or configure network interface parameters. ifconfig is typically used at boot time to define the network address of each interface on a machine. It may be used at a later time to redefine an interface's address or other parameters. Without arguments, ifconfig displays the current configuration for a network interface. Used with a single interface argument, ifconfig displays that particular interface's current configuration. Note that interfaces are numbered starting at zero: eth0, eth1, eth2, and so forth. In most cases, eth0 will be the primary PCI Ethernet interface, and wireless network interfaces will begin with ath0 or wlan0.
Arguments
String of the form name unit: for example, en0.
Since an interface may receive transmissions in differing protocols, each of which may require separate naming schemes, you can specify the address_family to change the interpretation of the remaining parameters. You may specify inet (for TCP/IP, the default), ax25 (AX.25 Packet Radio), ddp (Appletalk Phase 2), or ipx (Novell).
The following parameters may be set with ifconfig:
add address/prefixlength Add an IPv6 address and prefix length.
address address Assign the specified IP address to the interface.
allmulti/-allmulti Enable/disable sending of incoming frames to the kernel's network layer.
arp/-arp Enable/disable use of the Address Resolution Protocol in mapping between network-level addresses and link-level addresses.
broadcast [address] (inet only) Specify address to use to represent broadcasts to the network. Default is the address with a host part of all ones (i.e., x.y.z.255 for a class C network).
debug/-debug Enable/disable driver-dependent debugging code.
del address/prefixlength Delete an IPv6 address and prefix length.
down Mark an interface "down" (unresponsive).
hw class address Set the interface's hardware class and address. class may be ether (Ethernet), ax25 (AX.25 Packet Radio), or ARCnet.
io_addr addr I/O memory start address for device.
irq addr Set the device's interrupt line.
metric n Set routing metric of the interface to n. Default is 0.
mem_start addr Shared memory start address for device.
media type Set media type. Common values are 10base2, 10baseT, and AUI. If auto is specified, ifconfig will attempt to autosense the media type.
mtu n Set the interface's Maximum Transfer Unit (MTU).
multicast Set the multicast flag.
netmask mask (inet only) Specify how much of the address to reserve for subdividing networks into subnetworks. mask can be specified as a single hexadecimal number with a leading 0x, with a dot notation Internet address, or with a pseudo-network name listed in the network table /etc/networks.
pointopoint/-pointopoint [address] Enable/disable point-to-point interfacing, so that the connection between the two machines is dedicated.
promisc/-promisc Enable/disable promiscuous mode. Promiscuous mode allows the device to receive all packets on the network.
txqueuelen n Specify the transmit queue length.
tunnel addr Create an IPv6-in-IPv4 (SIT) device, tunneling to IPv4 address addr.
up Mark an interface "up" (ready to send and receive).
Each address is either a hostname present in the hostname database (/etc/hosts), or an Internet address expressed in the Internet standard dot notation.
Examples
To list all interfaces:
ifconfig -a
To add a second IP address to wlan0:
ifconfig wlan0:1 192.168.2.41 netmask 255.255.255.0
To change the hardware address (MAC address) assigned to eth0 (useful when setting up a router for a DSL or cable modem):
ifconfig eth0 hw ether 01:02:03:04:05:06
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