The iproute2 suite — centered on the ip command — has replaced the legacy net-tools package (ifconfig, route, arp) as the standard interface to the Linux kernel's network stack. Modern Linux networking is built around a handful of powerful tools: ip for interface and route management, ss for socket inspection, nmcli for NetworkManager profiles, and a rich set of diagnostic utilities spanning DNS, path analysis, packet capture, and throughput testing. The mental model that matters most: ip commands affect running kernel state only — changes are lost on reboot unless persisted through NetworkManager, systemd-networkd, or distro-specific config files.
What This Cheat Sheet Covers
This topic spans 18 focused tables and 165 indexed concepts. Below is a complete table-by-table outline of this topic, spanning foundational concepts through advanced details.
Table 1: ip addr — Interface Address Management
The ip addr subcommand manages IP addresses assigned to network interfaces and replaces the older ifconfig command. Understanding the difference between a temporary runtime change and a persistent configuration is critical: every ip addr command modifies only the live kernel state.
| Command | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
ip addr show | • Display all interfaces and their IPv4/IPv6 addresses • abbreviate as ip a. | |
ip addr show dev eth0 | Show addresses and state for a single interface only. | |
ip -4 addr showip -6 addr show | Filter output to IPv4 only or IPv6 only addresses. | |
ip addr add 192.168.1.10/24 dev eth0 | • Assign an IP address with prefix length to an interface • changes are not persistent across reboots | |
ip addr del 192.168.1.10/24 dev eth0 | Remove a specific IP address from an interface. |