Internet Protocol Configuration

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What Does Internet Protocol Configuration Mean?

Internet Protocol Configuration (ipconfig) is a Windows console application that has the ability to gather all data regarding current Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) configuration values and then display this data on a screen. Ipconfig also refreshes the Domain Name System (DNS) and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) settings each time it is invoked. When invoked without additional parameters, ipconfig simply displays the IP address, default gateway and subnet mask for all available adapters.

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Techopedia Explains Internet Protocol Configuration

Ipconfig is the the command line counterpart to winipcfg in Windows 95, 98 and ME. This command is mostly useful for computers that are set to obtain an IP address automatically, as it allows users to check which address is assigned by the DHCP or other configuration protocols.

In Mac OS X, the ipconfig utility is simply a wrapper for the IPConfiguration agent. This serves to control both DHCP and BootP right from the command line.

The syntax for using ipconfig is: ipconfig /parameter_name. For example, “ipconfig /all” displays the entire TCP/IP configuration of all available network adapters.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Specialist
Margaret Rouse
Technology Specialist

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of ​​a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.