Lab-05 ✪Network Configuration Commands

Lab 05: Network Configuration Commands

5.1 Objective

You will be introduced to:

1. Basic networking commands in windows

2. Network configuration commands.

5.2 Introduction
The Windows operating system contains numerous built-in, command line networking utilities
to troubleshoot network issues. However, there are 11 built-in networking tools that Windows
networking administrators should be familiar with. Windows System provides plenty of
networking commands to troubleshoot network issues by executing it in CMD (command
prompt or command console). At the end of this lab student must know the
● local loop address and its purpose

● how to find IP address of a machine’s NIC

● how to find the MAC address of machine’s NIC

● How to display ARP table

● How to display the Routing Table

● How to list the machines on the network

All commands related to network configuration which includes how
How to Access Command Prompt in Windows
Step I. Right-click on the Start button and select Run to open the Run window or press win key+
r

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Figure 5.1 Run Window

Step II. Type cmd into the field and click on OK

Figure 5.2: cmd command

Step III. The Command Prompt window will open

Figure 5.3: Command Prompt

i. PING Command for Testing Network Connectivity

It is used to troubleshooting network connection issues. A basic task for diagnosing the
connectivity of a network is to test whether one computer can communicate with another. This
is normally performed using the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP). A user application
that implements ICMP for testing connectivity is ping. Ping sends a message from source
computer to some destination computer, which then immediately responds. ping measures the
time it takes from sending the message, to when the response is received. That is, the delay to
the destination and back, i.e. the round-trip time (RTT)./ Time to Live (TTL). How many of

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those responses are returned, and how long it takes for them to return, are the two major pieces
of information that the ping command provides. Ping is used to test whether one network host is
able to communicate with another. It is used detecting devices on network and troubleshooting
network problems. It will help to see the connection between your device and another device on
the network. If we receive a reply from the device then the device is working properly. We can
use this command with an IP address and hostname.
Ping Command Syntax: The simplest way to use ping is to specify the destination as the first
parameter:

Ping DESTINATION

where DESTINATION is the IP address or domain name of the computer to test connectivity
with.

Ping Command Option:

TABLE 5.1: Ping Command Options

Ping Command Options

Item Explanation
-t Using this option will ping the target until you force it to stop by using Ctrl+C.
This ping command option will resolve, if possible, the hostname of an IP address
-a
target.
-n This option sets the number of ICMP Echo Requests to send, from 1 to
count 4294967295. The ping command will send 4 by default if -n isn't used.
Use this option to set the size, in bytes, of the echo request packet from 32 to
-l size 65,527. The ping command will send a 32-byte echo request if you don't use the -l
option.
Use this ping command option to prevent ICMP Echo Requests from being
-f fragmented by routers between you and the target. The -f option is most often
used to troubleshoot Path Maximum Transmission Unit (PMTU) issues.
-i TTL This option sets the Time to Live (TTL) value, the maximum of which is 255.
This option allows you to set a Type of Service (TOS) value. Beginning in Windows
-v TOS
7, this option no longer functions but still exists for compatibility reasons.
Use this ping command option to specify the number of hops between your
-r computer and the target computer or device that you'd like to be recorded and
count displayed. The maximum value for count is 9, so use the tracert command instead
if you're interested in viewing all the hops between two devices.
Use this option to report the time, in Internet Timestamp format, that each echo
-s
request is received and echo reply is sent. The maximum value for count is 4,
count
meaning that only the first four hops can be time stamped.
-w Specifying a timeout value when executing the ping command adjusts the amount
timeou of time, in milliseconds, that ping waits for each reply. If you don't use the -w

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Ping Command Options

t option, the default timeout value of 4000 is used, which is 4 seconds.
-R This option tells the ping command to trace the round-trip path.
-S
Use this option to specify the source address.
srcaddr
-p Use this switch to ping a Hyper-V Network Virtualization provider address.
This forces the ping command to use IPv4 only but is only necessary if target is a
-4
hostname and not an IP address.
This forces the ping command to use IPv6 only but as with the -4 option, is only
-6
necessary when pinging a hostname.
target This is the destination you wish to ping, either an IP address or a hostname.
Use the help switch with the ping command to show detailed help about the
/?
command's several options.

Ping Command Examples

We have searched for the google website. 0% data loss while sending the number of packages.
Success result is present n round trip times in milliseconds.

ping www.google.com

Figure 5.4: Ping Google Website

Now let try to Ping the localhost (our computer)

ping 127.0.0.1

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Figure 5.5: Ping localhost

In the above example, we're pinging 127.0.0.1, also called the IPv4 localhost IP address or
IPv4 loopback IP address, without options. Using the ping command with this address is an
excellent way to test that Windows' network features are working properly but it says
nothing about your own network hardware or your connection to any other computer or
device.

ii. Ipconfig Command to View Network Interface Information

Computer connects to the LAN via one of its Network Interface Cards (NIC). operating
systems allow the user to view information about the current NIC connection, including:
● MAC (or hardware) address

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● IP address and subnet mask

● Addresses of other important nodes (servers) on the network

● Traffic sent/received by the NIC

Operating systems often allow administrator users to modify some of the above information as
well. The main command to view and edit the network interface information is ipconfig.

To view the information for all interfaces:

Ipconfig

Figure 5.6: ipconfig command output

Ipconfig / all

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Figure 5.7: ipconfig/ all command output

iii. Tracert Command

The tracert command is a Command Prompt command that's used to show several details
about the path that a packet takes from the computer or device you're on to whatever
destination you specify.

Tracert Command Syntax

tracert [-d] [-h MaxHops] [-w TimeOut] [-4] [-6] target [/?]

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Figure 5.8: tracert command output

Table 5.2 Tracert Command options

Item Description
This option prevents tracert from resolving IP addresses to hostnames, often
-d
resulting in much faster results.
-h This tracert option specifies the maximum number of hops in the search for the
MaxHop target. If you do not specify MaxHops, and a target has not been found by 30
s hops, tracert will stop looking.
-w You can specify the time, in milliseconds, to allow each reply before timeout using
TimeOut this tracert option.
-4 This option forces tracert to use IPv4 only.
-6 This option forces tracert to use IPv6 only.
target This is the destination, either an IP address or hostname.
Tracert Command Examples:
tracert www.google.com

Figure 5.9: tracert google website output

With the tracert command shown above, we're asking tracert to show us the path from the local
computer all the way to the network device with the hostname www.google.com.
iv. Net Use Command

The net use command is a Command Prompt command that's used to connect to, remove,
and configure connections to shared resources, like mapped drives and network printers.
It's one of many net commands like net send, net time, net user, net view, etc.

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Figure 5.10: Net state Command

Net Use Command Syntax

This command uses the following general syntax:

net use [{devicename | *}] [\\computername\sharename[\volume] [{password | *}]]

[/user:[domainname\]username] [/user:[dotteddomainname\]username] [/user:
[username@dotteddomainname] [/home {devicename | *} [{password | *}]] [/persistent:
{yes | no}] [/smartcard] [/savecred] [/delete] [/help] [/?]

Table 2.3 Net Use Command Options

Option Explanation
Execute the net use command alone to show detailed information about
net use
currently mapped drives and devices.
Use this option to specify the drive letter or printer port you want to map
the network resource to. For a shared folder on the network, specify a drive
letter from D: through Z:, and for a shared printer, LPT1: through LPT3:. Use
devicename
* instead of specifying devicename to automatically assign the next
available drive letter, starting with Z: and moving backward, for a mapped
drive.
\\ This specifies the name of the computer, computername, and the shared

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resource, sharename, like a shared folder or a shared printer connected to

computernam
computername. If there are spaces anywhere here, be sure to put the entire
e\sharename
path, slashes included, in quotes.
Use this option to specify the volume when connecting to a NetWare
volume server. Client Service for NetWare or Gateway Service for Netware must be
installed.
This is the password needed to access the shared resource on
password computername. You can choose to enter the password during the execution
of the net use command by typing * instead of the actual password.
Use this net command option to specify a username to connect to the
/user resource with. If you don't use /user, net use will attempt to connect to the
network share or printer with your current username.
Specify a different domain than the one you're on, assuming you're on one,
domainname with this option. Skip domainname if you're not on a domain or you want
net use to use the one you're already on.
Use this option with /user to specify the username to use to connect to the
username
shared resource.
dotteddomain This option specifies the fully qualified domain name where username
name exists.
This net use command option maps the current user's home directory to
/home
either the devicename drive letter or the next available drive letter with *.
Use this option to control the persistence of connections created with the
/persistent: net use command. Choose yes to automatically restore created connections
{yes | no} at the next login or choose no to limit the life of this connection to this
session. You can shorten this switch to /p if you like.
This switch tells the net use command to use the credentials present on the
/smartcard
available smart card.
This option stores the password and user information for use next time you
/savecred connect in this session or in all future sessions when used with
/persistent:yes.
This net use command is used to cancel a network connection. Use /delete
/delete with device name to remove a specified connection or with * to remove all
mapped drives and devices. This option can be shortened to /d.
Use this option, or the shortened /h, to display detailed help information
/help for the net use command. Using this switch is the same as using the net
help command with net use: net help use.
The standard help switch also works with the net use command but only
/? displays the command syntax, not any detailed information about the
command's options.

Net Use Command Examples

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In the following example, we used the net use command to connect to my media shared folder
on a computer named ace. The media folder will be mapped to the highest available drive
letter [*], which in our example happens to be w, but we don't want to continue mapping this
drive every time we log onto the computer [/persistent:no].

Net use w: \\ 192.168.1.77\wallpapers /user:ace 786

Figure 5.11: Temporarily Mapped Drive

In the following net use example, w: drive is mapped with. We want to map our w: drive to
the wallpapers shared folder on user ace. We want to connect as another user account we
have [/user] by the name of ace that's stored on the 192.168.1.77 computer with a
password of 786. We don't want to map this drive manually every time we start the
computer [/p:yes],

Figure 5.12: Permanent Mapped Drive

List All Shared Resources

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In this simple example of the net use command, we get a list of all the shared resources
currently in use under the user account that's currently logged in. In our example, the
result in Command Prompt shows "Z: \\server\shared folder\" since z: is the drive letter
that's connecting to shared folder on server.

Net use

Figure 5.13: list all shared resources

The message "There are no entries in this list." will show if there aren't any connections
currently set up.

Unmap a Drive

net use w: /delete

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Figure 5.14: delete map drive

v. Hostname command

The hostname command is used to show computer's host name and domain name. A host
name is a name that is assigned to a host (i.e., a computer connected to the network) that
uniquely identifies it on a network and thus allows it to be addressed without using its full IP
address. Domain names are user-friendly substitutes for numeric IP addresses.
The basic syntax for the hostname command is
hostname [options] [new_host_name]

When used without any options or arguments hostname displays the

current host and domain names of the local machine. The default
host and domain name is typically localhost.localdomain.
When a name is provided as an argument, it becomes the new host
name. A change in the host name can only be performed by the
administrative account.

hostname

Figure 5.15: Hostname command output

vi. Getmac

Getmac is used to display the Media Access Control (MAC) addresses for each network
adapter in the computer. This tool is typically used in troubleshooting network issues.

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C:\users\Nosheen> getmac

Figure 5.16: getmac command output

vii. Nslookup

It stands for name server lookup. When we want to know the IP address of the domain,
we can use this command. If this command is run over and over, different IP addresses
will get for a website like google, yahoo, Flipkart because these domains have spread to
different machines.

C:\users\Nosheen> nslookup

Figure 5.17: Nslookup command output

viii. Netstat

It is used for network statics, diagnostics, and analysis. If we are managing a huge college
campus network, then this tool is useful because it provides an advanced aspect of the
network.

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C:\users\Nosheen> netstat

Figure 5.18: netstat command output

By running this command, will show the number of active connections on the system. The
active connection is about port (TCP) is open and ready to accept the connection request.

ix. Arp
It stands for address resolution protocol. It will find the MAC address and hardware
address of the host from the IP address. The ARP command corresponds to the Address
Resolution Protocol. Although it is easy to think of network communications in terms of IP
addressing, packet delivery is ultimately dependent on the Media Access Control (MAC)
address of the device’s network adapter. This is where the Address Resolution Protocol
comes into play. Its job is to map IP addresses to MAC addresses.

Windows devices maintain an ARP cache, which contains the results of recent ARP
queries. You can see the contents of this cache by using the ARP -A command. If you are
having problems communicating with one specific host, you can append the remote host’s
IP address to the ARP -A command.

Arp -a

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Figure 5.19: arp command output

x. Route

IP networks use routing tables to direct packets from one subnet to another. The Windows
Route utility allows you to view the device’s routing tables. To do so, simply type Route
Print. The cool thing about the Route command is that it not only shows you the routing
table, it lets you make changes. Commands such as Route Add, Route Delete, and Route
Change allow you to make routing table modifications on an as needed basis.

Route print

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Figure 5.20: route command output

xi. Systeminfo

If you need to know anything about the device you are using, be it details of the
processor used, the version of Windows you are operating on, or what the boot device is
configured as, you can find it all through the Windows GUI. But why would you want to
spend time doing that when you can run this simple command to see it all in one place?
This command will poll your device and display the most important information in a
clean, easy to read format.

systeminfo

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Figure 5.21. systeminfo command output

i. pathping:

A better version of tracert that gives statics about packet lost and latency. The PathPing
tool is a utility that combines the best aspects of Tracert and Ping. Entering the PathPing
command followed by a host name initiates what looks like a somewhat standard Tracert
process. Once this process completes however, the tool takes 300 seconds (five minutes)
to gather statistics, and then reports latency and packet loss statistics that are more
detailed than those provided by Ping or Tracert

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Pathping

Figure 5.22: pathping command output

5.3 Lab Tasks

Q1. View the configuration details, including addresses, of your computers network
interfaces.

Q2. Test the network connectivity between your computer and several other computers:
another PC in the lab.

Q3. Using one of the publicly available websites for ping/traceroute, test the connectivity
to several external websites.

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Q4. Trace the path between several pairs of source/destination nodes.

Q5 Find the IP addresses of several web servers (domains) using more than one method.

Q.6. View your routing table.

Q.7. Find the hardware address of another computer in the lab using ARP.

Q.8. View the active TCP connections that your computer has, especially after you visited a
website. netstat

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