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DEMO: ipconfig

IPConfig is a Windows command-line utility used to view a machine's IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, and MAC address. Running it with the /all switch returns full network adapter details including physical addresses.

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About this video

IPConfig is a native Windows command-line utility that provides a fast way to retrieve network configuration information directly from the operating system. Accessed through a command prompt by typing ipconfig, it lists every network adapter present on the machine along with its associated IPv4 address, IPv6 link-local address, subnet mask, and default gateway. On systems with multiple adapters — such as a combination of wired Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth interfaces — each connection appears as a separate entry in the output, allowing for precise identification of a specific adapter's settings. Extending the command with the /all switch generates a more detailed report that includes the physical address, which is the MAC address assigned to each network interface. This is particularly useful when troubleshooting connectivity issues, verifying network configurations, or gathering adapter information for documentation purposes. Together, the basic and extended forms of ipconfig cover the most commonly needed interface-level data points in day-to-day network diagnostics and IT support work.

What you'll learn

Use the ipconfig command and its /all switch to retrieve IPv4 address, subnet mask, default gateway, and MAC address information on a Windows system

What's covered

IPConfig Utility

Accessing IPConfig
- Open Command Prompt
- Type cmd in Windows
- Run ipconfig command
Network Connections Shown
- LAN Connection
- Wireless LAN Connections
- Bluetooth Connection
- Ethernet Connections
Key IP Information
- IPv4 Address
- IPv6 Link Local Address
- Subnet Mask
- Default Gateway
IPConfig /all Switch
- Reveals MAC Address
- Physical Address Field

Aligned to

CompTIA A+ Core 2

1.2 Given a scenario, use the appropriate Microsoft command-line tool.

Cisco CCNA

1.10 Verify IP parameters for Client OS

CompTIA A+ Core 1

2.6 Compare and contrast common network configuration concepts.

Cisco CCST Networking

5.3 Run basic diagnostic commands and interpret the results

Key terms

IP Address: A numerical label assigned to each device connected to a network that uses the Internet Protocol.
Subnet Mask: A 32-bit number that divides an IP address into network and host portions.
Default Gateway: The router that a device uses to send traffic to destinations outside its local network.
Media Access Control: A sublayer of the Data Link layer that controls how devices on a network gain access to a medium and transmit data.
ipconfig: A Windows command-line utility used to display and manage the IP configuration of network interfaces on a local system.

Transcript

There's a utility that can help you look up some information about the IP address on your machine. It's called ipconfig, and it's really handy.

Running ipconfig

This utility ipconfig needs to be done in a command window. So I'm going to open up Windows and type in cmd to bring up a command prompt here. And here is our command prompt. And I'm just going to type in ipconfig and see what we see.

One thing we have is all of the connections here. So I've got a LAN connection, a wireless LAN connection here, another wireless LAN connection, another one, there's the Bluetooth, and there's a couple Ethernet. So the one that we're actually looking at is this Ethernet right here. And on here, it gives me the IP version 6 link local address, it gives me the IP version 4 address. It also gives me the default gateway, which one's the default gateway, and the subnet mask here. So the one that I'm really pointing out here is this IP version 4 address, 192.16842245. That's the IP address of this interface.

The /all Switch

There's other commands that we can use. So I can type in ipconfig with a switch of all and hit that, and now it shows me the MAC address of these. So I can scroll up to that one that we're looking at, Ethernet 2, and it includes the MAC address for this. So if we see in here, the physical address right here is going to be the MAC address.

There are other commands with ipconfig, but I just want to show you the basics so you can start playing around with it and using it.

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