•Arnošt Havelka
Network Basics
Master Ipconfig, Ping, and Tracert.
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Every sysadmin needs to know how to diagnose network connectivity. The "Holy Trinity" of network commands are ipconfig (check settings), ping (check connection), and tracert (check path).
1. Ipconfig
Displays your current TCP/IP network configuration.
Try the command
View local network details!
Build the command
ipconfig
Terminal
C:\Users\Student>ipconfig
Windows IP Configuration
Ethernet adapter Ethernet:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : localdomain
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::a1b2:c3d4:e5f6%4
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.105
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
2. Ping
Tests the reachability of a host on an Internet Protocol (IP) network.
Terminal
C:\Users\Student>ping 8.8.8.8
3. Tracert (Trace Route)
Shows the path packets take to reach a destination. Useful for finding where a connection is breaking.
Terminal
C:\Users\Student>tracert google.com
Knowledge Check
1 / 3Which command clears the DNS cache?
References
These documentation links provide authoritative details for the commands used in this article.
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