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What is Computer Networking

Computer Networking is the practice of connecting computers together to enable communication and data exchange between them. In general, Computer Network is a collection of two or more computers. It helps users to communicate more easily. In this article, we are going to discuss the basics which everyone must know before going deep into Computer Networking.

Basic Networking Commands

Help Command

/? - Displays help at the command prompt.

/help - Displays help at the command prompt.

command ?

command /

ipconfig /

ipconfig ?

ipconfig

ipconfig is undoubtedly one of the fundamental network commands used by data engineers and IT admins and has remained one of the most efficient ways of troubleshooting network connectivity problems in Windows

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/windows-commands

PS C:\Users\Administrateur> ipconfig /?

USAGE:
    ipconfig [/allcompartments] [/? | /all |
                                 /renew [adapter] | /release [adapter] |
                                 /renew6 [adapter] | /release6 [adapter] |
                                 /flushdns | /displaydns | /registerdns |
                                 /showclassid adapter |
                                 /setclassid adapter [classid] |
                                 /showclassid6 adapter |
                                 /setclassid6 adapter [classid] ]

where
    adapter             Connection name
                       (wildcard characters * and ? allowed, see examples)

    Options:
       /?               Display this help message
       /all             Display full configuration information.
       /release         Release the IPv4 address for the specified adapter.
       /release6        Release the IPv6 address for the specified adapter.
       /renew           Renew the IPv4 address for the specified adapter.
       /renew6          Renew the IPv6 address for the specified adapter.
       /flushdns        Purges the DNS Resolver cache.
       /registerdns     Refreshes all DHCP leases and re-registers DNS names
       /displaydns      Display the contents of the DNS Resolver Cache.
       /showclassid     Displays all the dhcp class IDs allowed for adapter.
       /setclassid      Modifies the dhcp class id.
       /showclassid6    Displays all the IPv6 DHCP class IDs allowed for adapter.
       /setclassid6     Modifies the IPv6 DHCP class id.


The default is to display only the IP address, subnet mask and
default gateway for each adapter bound to TCP/IP.

For Release and Renew, if no adapter name is specified, then the IP address
leases for all adapters bound to TCP/IP will be released or renewed.

For Setclassid and Setclassid6, if no ClassId is specified, then the ClassId is removed.

Examples:
    > ipconfig                       ... Show information
    > ipconfig /all                  ... Show detailed information
    > ipconfig /renew                ... renew all adapters
    > ipconfig /renew EL*            ... renew any connection that has its
                                         name starting with EL
    > ipconfig /release *Con*        ... release all matching connections,
                                         eg. "Wired Ethernet Connection 1" or
                                             "Wired Ethernet Connection 2"
    > ipconfig /allcompartments      ... Show information about all
                                         compartments
    > ipconfig /allcompartments /all ... Show detailed information about all
                                         compartments

nslookup

PS C:\Users\Administrateur> nslookup /?
Usage:
   nslookup [-opt ...]             # interactive mode using default server
   nslookup [-opt ...] - server    # interactive mode using 'server'
   nslookup [-opt ...] host        # just look up 'host' using default server
   nslookup [-opt ...] host server # just look up 'host' using 'server'
PS C:\Users\Administrateur>

hostname

Powershell (Windows)

hostname

ping

PS C:\Users\Administrateur> ping /?

Usage: ping [-t] [-a] [-n count] [-l size] [-f] [-i TTL] [-v TOS]
            [-r count] [-s count] [[-j host-list] | [-k host-list]]
            [-w timeout] [-R] [-S srcaddr] [-c compartment] [-p]
            [-4] [-6] target_name

Options:
    -t             Ping the specified host until stopped.
                   To see statistics and continue - type Control-Break;
                   To stop - type Control-C.
    -a             Resolve addresses to hostnames.
    -n count       Number of echo requests to send.
    -l size        Send buffer size.
    -f             Set Don't Fragment flag in packet (IPv4-only).
    -i TTL         Time To Live.
    -v TOS         Type Of Service (IPv4-only. This setting has been deprecated
                   and has no effect on the type of service field in the IP
                   Header).
    -r count       Record route for count hops (IPv4-only).
    -s count       Timestamp for count hops (IPv4-only).
    -j host-list   Loose source route along host-list (IPv4-only).
    -k host-list   Strict source route along host-list (IPv4-only).
    -w timeout     Timeout in milliseconds to wait for each reply.
    -R             Use routing header to test reverse route also (IPv6-only).
                   Per RFC 5095 the use of this routing header has been
                   deprecated. Some systems may drop echo requests if
                   this header is used.
    -S srcaddr     Source address to use.
    -c compartment Routing compartment identifier.
    -p             Ping a Hyper-V Network Virtualization provider address.
    -4             Force using IPv4.
    -6             Force using IPv6.

PS C:\Users\Administrateur>

tracert

PS C:\Users\Administrateur> tracert /?

Usage: tracert [-d] [-h maximum_hops] [-j host-list] [-w timeout]
               [-R] [-S srcaddr] [-4] [-6] target_name

Options:
    -d                 Do not resolve addresses to hostnames.
    -h maximum_hops    Maximum number of hops to search for target.
    -j host-list       Loose source route along host-list (IPv4-only).
    -w timeout         Wait timeout milliseconds for each reply.
    -R                 Trace round-trip path (IPv6-only).
    -S srcaddr         Source address to use (IPv6-only).
    -4                 Force using IPv4.
    -6                 Force using IPv6.
PS C:\Users\Administrateur>

netstat

PS C:\Users\Administrateur> netstat /?

Displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP network connections.

NETSTAT [-a] [-b] [-e] [-f] [-i] [-n] [-o] [-p proto] [-r] [-s] [-t] [-x] [-y] [interval]

  -a            Displays all connections and listening ports.
  -b            Displays the executable involved in creating each connection or
                listening port. In some cases well-known executables host
                multiple independent components, and in these cases the
                sequence of components involved in creating the connection
                or listening port is displayed. In this case the executable
                name is in [] at the bottom, on top is the component it called,
                and so forth until TCP/IP was reached. Note that this option
                can be time-consuming and will fail unless you have sufficient
                permissions.
  -e            Displays Ethernet statistics. This may be combined with the -s
                option.
  -f            Displays Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDN) for foreign
                addresses.
  -i            Displays the time spent by a TCP connection in its current state.
  -n            Displays addresses and port numbers in numerical form.
  -o            Displays the owning process ID associated with each connection.
  -p proto      Shows connections for the protocol specified by proto; proto
                may be any of: TCP, UDP, TCPv6, or UDPv6.  If used with the -s
                option to display per-protocol statistics, proto may be any of:
                IP, IPv6, ICMP, ICMPv6, TCP, TCPv6, UDP, or UDPv6.
  -q            Displays all connections, listening ports, and bound
                nonlistening TCP ports. Bound nonlistening ports may or may not
                be associated with an active connection.
  -r            Displays the routing table.
  -s            Displays per-protocol statistics.  By default, statistics are
                shown for IP, IPv6, ICMP, ICMPv6, TCP, TCPv6, UDP, and UDPv6;
                the -p option may be used to specify a subset of the default.
  -t            Displays the current connection offload state.
  -x            Displays NetworkDirect connections, listeners, and shared
                endpoints.
  -y            Displays the TCP connection template for all connections.
                Cannot be combined with the other options.
  interval      Redisplays selected statistics, pausing interval seconds
                between each display.  Press CTRL+C to stop redisplaying
                statistics.  If omitted, netstat will print the current
                configuration information once.

PS C:\Users\Administrateur>

arp

PS C:\Users\Administrateur> arp /?

Displays and modifies the IP-to-Physical address translation tables used by
address resolution protocol (ARP).

ARP -s inet_addr eth_addr [if_addr]
ARP -d inet_addr [if_addr]
ARP -a [inet_addr] [-N if_addr] [-v]

  -a            Displays current ARP entries by interrogating the current
                protocol data.  If inet_addr is specified, the IP and Physical
                addresses for only the specified computer are displayed.  If
                more than one network interface uses ARP, entries for each ARP
                table are displayed.
  -g            Same as -a.
  -v            Displays current ARP entries in verbose mode.  All invalid
                entries and entries on the loop-back interface will be shown.
  inet_addr     Specifies an internet address.
  -N if_addr    Displays the ARP entries for the network interface specified
                by if_addr.
  -d            Deletes the host specified by inet_addr. inet_addr may be
                wildcarded with * to delete all hosts.
  -s            Adds the host and associates the Internet address inet_addr
                with the Physical address eth_addr.  The Physical address is
                given as 6 hexadecimal bytes separated by hyphens. The entry
                is permanent.
  eth_addr      Specifies a physical address.
  if_addr       If present, this specifies the Internet address of the
                interface whose address translation table should be modified.
                If not present, the first applicable interface will be used.
Example:
  > arp -s 157.55.85.212   00-aa-00-62-c6-09  .... Adds a static entry.
  > arp -a                                    .... Displays the arp table.
PS C:\Users\Administrateur>

systeminfo

PS C:\Users\Administrateur> systeminfo /?

SYSTEMINFO [/S system [/U username [/P [password]]]] [/FO format] [/NH]

Description:
    This tool displays operating system configuration information for
    a local or remote machine, including service pack levels.

Parameter List:
    /S      system           Specifies the remote system to connect to.

    /U      [domain\]user    Specifies the user context under which
                             the command should execute.

    /P      [password]       Specifies the password for the given
                             user context. Prompts for input if omitted.

    /FO     format           Specifies the format in which the output
                             is to be displayed.
                             Valid values: "TABLE", "LIST", "CSV".

    /NH                      Specifies that the "Column Header" should
                             not be displayed in the output.
                             Valid only for "TABLE" and "CSV" formats.

    /?                       Displays this help message.

Examples:
    SYSTEMINFO
    SYSTEMINFO /?
    SYSTEMINFO /S system
    SYSTEMINFO /S system /U user
    SYSTEMINFO /S system /U domain\user /P password /FO TABLE
    SYSTEMINFO /S system /FO LIST
    SYSTEMINFO /S system /FO CSV /NH
PS C:\Users\Administrateur>

pathping

PS C:\Users\Administrateur> pathping /?

Usage: pathping [-g host-list] [-h maximum_hops] [-i address] [-n]
                [-p period] [-q num_queries] [-w timeout]
                [-4] [-6] target_name

Options:
    -g host-list     Loose source route along host-list.
    -h maximum_hops  Maximum number of hops to search for target.
    -i address       Use the specified source address.
    -n               Do not resolve addresses to hostnames.
    -p period        Wait period milliseconds between pings.
    -q num_queries   Number of queries per hop.
    -w timeout       Wait timeout milliseconds for each reply.
    -4               Force using IPv4.
    -6               Force using IPv6.
PS C:\Users\Administrateur>

getmac

PS C:\Users\Administrateur> getmac /?

GETMAC [/S system [/U username [/P [password]]]] [/FO format] [/NH] [/V]

Description:
    This tool enables an administrator to display the MAC address
    for network adapters on a system.

Parameter List:
    /S     system            Specifies the remote system to connect to.

    /U     [domain\]user     Specifies the user context under
                             which the command should execute.

    /P     [password]        Specifies the password for the given
                             user context. Prompts for input if omitted.

    /FO    format            Specifies the format in which the output
                             is to be displayed.
                             Valid values: "TABLE", "LIST", "CSV".

    /NH                      Specifies that the "Column Header" should
                             not be displayed in the output.
                             Valid only for TABLE and CSV formats.

    /V                       Specifies that verbose output is displayed.

    /?                       Displays this help message.

Examples:
    GETMAC /?
    GETMAC /FO csv
    GETMAC /S system /NH /V
    GETMAC /S system /U user
    GETMAC /S system /U domain\user /P password /FO list /V
    GETMAC /S system /U domain\user /P password /FO table /NH
PS C:\Users\Administrateur>