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If you're an IT support engineer, system admin, or tech-savvy user, mastering command-line networking tools can save you time, effort, and confusion. Windows offers a powerful set of built-in commands that help you troubleshoot, configure, and monitor network settings directly from the terminal.

Here’s a breakdown of the most useful IP, DNS, service, and network tools every technician should know:

IP Configuration & Management Commands

These commands allow you to check, release, and refresh IP settings—especially useful when dealing with connectivity issues or switching between networks.

ipconfig

Displays the basic IP configuration of your network adapters. It shows IPv4/IPv6 addresses, subnet mask, and default gateway.

ipconfig /all

Provides a complete list of IP-related details, including MAC address, DNS servers, DHCP status, and lease times.

 ipconfig /flushdns

Flushes the DNS resolver cache. Use this when you're facing DNS-related issues or website resolution problems.

ipconfig /release & ipconfig /renew

release: Drops your current IP address lease.

renew: Requests a new IP address from the DHCP server.

Together, these commands help fix most dynamic IP-related connection issues.

Network Testing & Troubleshooting

Need to verify if a device is reachable or trace the path of your connection? These tools are essential for diagnosing network problems.

 ping [IP or domain]

Sends ICMP echo requests to test network connectivity. It’s your go-to tool for checking if a server or website is reachable.

 tracert [IP or domain]

Traces the route packets take to reach a host, showing each hop and delay along the way. Great for identifying where a connection is failing.

nslookup [domain]

Performs a DNS query to retrieve IP addresses, mail server info, and other DNS records. Helps you verify if DNS resolution is working properly.

 netstat -an

Displays all active connections and listening ports. This is valuable for identifying unauthorized network activity, checking which apps are using which ports, and spotting open TCP/UDP ports.

 MAC Address & Host Info Commands

Every device on a network has a unique MAC and hostname. These commands help you map and monitor networked devices.

arp -a

Shows the ARP cache — mappings between IP addresses and physical (MAC) addresses. Use this to troubleshoot devices on your local subnet.

 getmac

Displays the MAC addresses of all network interfaces on your machine.

 hostname

Returns the computer’s hostname. Useful in scripts or network identification tasks.

 net share / net use

net share: Lists all shared folders from your computer.

net use: Connects or disconnects from a shared resource (e.g., mapped network drives).

Service & Network Configuration Tools

When you need to control services or perform advanced network configuration, these commands give you deep system-level access.

net start / net stop

Used to start or stop Windows services via the command line. Example:

bash

net stop wuauserv

net start wuauserv

(Stops and restarts the Windows Update service.)

 netsh

One of the most powerful tools for network interface configuration, managing firewall rules, wireless settings, proxy configs, and more. Examples:

bash

netsh interface ipv4 show config

netsh wlan show profiles