ifconfig

Network InterFace configuration tool.

Get and set key interface information like IP, subnet masks, MAC, etc.

Good source: http://www.thegeekstuff.com/2009/03/ifconfig-7-examples-to-configure-network-interface/

ifconfig

Sample interfaces on a modern laptop:

• eth0: wired network 0
• wlan0: Wifi card 0
• lo: loopback (local host)

Get local IPs (behind router):

ifconfig | grep -B1 "inet addr" | awk '{ if ( \$1 == "inet" ) { print \$2 } else if ( \$2 == "Link" ) { printf "%s:" ,\$1 } }' | awk -F: '{ print \$1 ": " \$3 }'

wlan0 and eth0 are two different interfaces!

iwconfig

Wireless network configuration

TODO: subset of ifconfig?

See also

NetworkManager is a higher level network configuration tool used in Ubuntu 12.04 by default. You should use that instead if installed.