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IPCONFIG – Release, Renew, FlushDns & More (Windows Command Line, CMD, DOS)

Jump Right In:

What Is The Ipconfig Command?

View Your Computers IP Addresses Using Ipconfig

Release & Renew Addresses Using Ipconfig.

Display Your DNS Cache Using Ipconfig.

Register Your DNS Names And IP Addresses.

What We'll Learn:

Welcome!
This guide is all about the ipconfig command in the windows command line.

  • We’ll start by learning, what exactly the ipconfig command is and what function does it serve.
  • How to use it along with the /all parameter to view all our computers IP addresses.
  • How to use the release and renew parameters to release and renew our addresses accordingly.
  • And finally, we’ll learn how to view or empty our DNS cache and how to register DNS names.

Lets get started!

What is the ipconfig command?​

Ipconfig is one of the many tools and commands available in the command prompt that can be used to manage or troubleshoot a network.

It can be used to complete a variety of tasks that are essential to network or system administration, including but not limited to:

  • Displaying all the TCP/IP addresses and values your pc is currently using.
  • Displaying the contents of your dns cache.
  • Assigning a new ip address to your computer.
  • And finally flushing or registering a domain name server(dns).

The ipconfig command is extremely useful and necessary, not only for system administrators but also for the majority of powerusers.

Lets begin learning how to do all the above, starting with viewing our computers IP address.

View your computers Ip addresses using ipconfig:

Using the ipcofig command to display information is extremely easy. With your command prompt open simply type the following:

ipconfig

A list of information about the windows ip configuration and the address of every adapter your computer is currently using will immediately show up.

In many cases however you might need a few more pieces of information, that are by default not shown without the /all parameter.

So to view the full list of your computers addresses simply type:

ipconfig /all

A variety of information about all the addresses every network adapter in your computer is currently using will immediately show up.
Ranging from the adapters physical and internal address, its subnet mask and the default gateway ip to whether dhcp is enabled or not and the dns servers.

Release & Renew addreses using ipconfig:​

You can resolve a plethora of network connectivity issues by releasing and renewing your local ip address.

Your computer will continue using the same ip address indefinitely unless instructed to do otherwise.
Typing:

Ipconfig /release

Into your command line to order your dhcp client to get rid of your current ip address, making your computer lose internet connectivity.

To get your dhcp client to issue you a new ip adress simply type:

ipconfig /renew

You will immediately get issued a new ip address and regain internet and network connectivity.

You can also combine the two commands by the use of a redirector.

A redirector is a special symbol that can be used to combine two commands in a variety of ways including but not limited to using a commands as input for another (|) or simply ruining two commands one after the other (&&).
In this case we need to do the latter. To do so type:

ipconfig /release && ipconfig /renew

Display your DNS Cache using ipconfig:

You can display the full list of every domain name and ip address you have resolved by viewing your dns cache. Simply type the following:

ipconfig /displaydns

Immediately you will see the:

  • Record Name: The name of the domain you resolved.
  • Record Type: A number that refers to the type of the record. For example ipv4 is type 1 and ipv6 is 28.
  • Time To Live:The time in seconds after which the entry will expire.
  • Data Length: the length of the address in bytes.
  • Section: Is the answer of the query.
  • Record: Displays the value of the entry. 

Like i mentioned previously your dns cache contains the ip address of evry domain you have resolved. However server address might often change resulting in a 404 or similar error.

In that case, you can use the ipconfig command to completely delete your dns cache:

Ipconfig /flushdns

Your computer will now query every domain name (including any problematic ones) all over again every time its required. 

Register your DNS names and IP addresses:​

You can use the ipconfig command along with the registerdns parameter to create or update a host’s record so that it matches the one listed in the active directory.

ipconfig registerdns

The /registerdns parameter is particularly useful for troubleshooting a failed DNS name registration or resolving a dynamic update problem between a client and the DNS server. 

Summary:

  • Use ipconfig and the /all parameter to view all the ip addresses your pc is currently using.
  • Release and renew you ip address to resolve network and internet connectivity issues.
  • Use the displaydns parameter to view your dns cache.
  • Use the  flushdns parameter to empty your dns cache.
  • And finally use the registerdns parameter  to create or update a host’s record so that it matches the one listed in the active directory.

That's It!

You now know pretty much everything there is to know about the ipconfig command!

If you liked this short guide take a look at a few of our other posts related to the windows command line, or if you really liked it consider enrolling in our video course where you will learn the ins and outs of the Windows command Line.

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