How Many Times Have You Used The Command-Line? Working With A Command Line Environment Does Not Have A Complicated Graphical Interface, And You Can Use It Simply By Typing Commands. 

Command-line is one of the most widely used tools used by network administrators. Most network administrators prefer to enter their commands with the appropriate switches into the environment instead of a graphical interface to get things done faster.

It does not matter if you are a regular user or a network administrator; familiarity with command-line commands allows you to manage home or office networks more efficiently. This article will get acquainted with eight practical orders of this environment about networks.

1. Ping

Ping is one of the most straightforward and practical commands that you should learn to work well. The above command states whether your computer can reach the IP address of a particular destination or a domain name, and if so, how long it takes for data to be exchanged between the source and destination. The following example shows how to ping a Google site and the ping result.

This Command-Line command works by sending multiple data packets and checking how many are returned. Loss of parcels means poor performance and suggests that the streaming process is slow. Ping indicates the lost packets by displaying the word lost if some packages are not returned.

The above tool is a great way to test the performance of networks. By default, Ping sends four packets, with a 4-second waiting period for each. Of course, you can increase the number of packages that Ping can send. The following command shows how to do this.

Ping www.google.com -n 10

You can also increase the waiting time in milliseconds as follows.

Ping www.google.com -w 6000

2. TRACERT

Tracert is the title of the two words Trace Route. Similar to ping, it sends a packet of data to debug networks. In other words, the above tool is used to determine the path that data packets take to reach the destination.

The tracert and ping Command-Line Commands are different. Ping lets you know if the address you pinged is active, but tracert shows all the routers that the data packets interact with along the way. The following figure shows the use of the above tool on the Google domain.

The output of the above Command-Line Command summarizes each hop’s status in each line, including the latency between your device and a particular dance, along with the IP address of each ball (plus the domain name if available).

Why do we see three latencies per-hop? Because tracert sends three packets to the hop, in some cases, one of them may be lost or may take a long time, which means that the actual delay time will not display.

3. PATHING

Pathing has a function similar to Tracert but provides more valuable and comprehensive information. After sending the packets to a specific destination using the above command, the above tool analyzes the path and calculates the lost packages based on each hop. The following figure shows the performance of the above device.

4. IPCONFIG

Ipconfig is one of the most widely used network commands in the Windows operating system. The tool provides valuable information and allows you to use switches to perform a specific task. The following figure shows the output of the above command.

The default output shows each network adapter connected to the system and explains how the adapters resolve the addresses. The IPv4 Address and Default Gateway at the bottom of the Wireless LAN Adapter and Ethernet Adapter provide helpful information. You can also use the above command with the following switch to clear the cache of the domain name system.

Ipconfig /flush DNS

Clearing the domain name system cache is useful when you cannot connect to a particular website or server for various reasons.

5. getmac

Each IEEE 802 compliant device has a unique MAC address. Mac addresses are assigned to devices by manufacturers and stored on the device hardware. Some people use MAC addresses to restrict devices from connecting to a network. The image below shows the output of this command.

Depending on the network cards you have installed on your computer, you may see more than one address. For example, Ethernet and Wi-Fi communications each have separate MAC addresses.

6. NSLOOKUP

Nslookup is the name of the Name Server Lookup. It is another powerful networking tool that some users are unaware of it. Usually, the above mechanism is used to find the IP address of a specific domain. The figure below shows this.

Note that some domain emails are not attached to a dedicated address. It means that each time you run the above command, you may receive different IP addresses. It is especially true for large websites, as they distribute their workload across multiple machines. If you want to convert an IP address to a domain name, type it in your browser and see what happens. Note that some IP addresses are not available on the Internet.

7. NETSTAT

Netstat is another network application tool used for statistics, error detection, and analysis. A powerful and sophisticated tool that, of course, becomes a simple and efficient tool if you ignore its advanced applications. The following figure shows the output of this command.

By default, this command shows all active connections on the system (LAN and Internet connections). An active connection does not mean transmitting data, but it can be an open port and ready to receive a fellowship. This tool gives you comprehensive information about ports.

8. NETSH

Netsh is the name of the Network Shell. A command that allows you to view and configure any network card on your system provides more information than the previous command. Executing this command in the command line environment causes the control of this environment to be given to the above command. Inside the shell of this command are various fields that include orders related to routing, commands related to DHCP, identification, etc. Use the following control to view all network shells of this command.

Use the following command to view all orders within a field:

Also, use the following syntax to see the sub-commands within the authorities:

For example, you can use the following control to view all the wireless network drivers you have on the system and their features.

Netsh WLAN show drivers

The above command is advanced, the explanation of which requires a detailed article. Whenever you look for specific technical information about your network configuration, it is best to use the above command.