Network Engineer Mock Interview
Practice 30 Network Engineer interview questions covering routing protocols, network security, and troubleshooting scenarios.
Question 21 of 30
What are Ipconfig and Ifconfig, and how do they differ from each other?
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William Swansen has worked in the employment assistance realm since 2007. He is an author, job search strategist, and career advisor who helps individuals worldwide and in various professions to find their ideal careers.
This is a common technical question that asks you to define some terms and then discuss how they differ. When answering technical questions, keep your answers to the point. Also, be prepared for a follow-up question which the interviewer will use to explore the topic in more detail.
William Swansen has worked in the employment assistance realm since 2007. He is an author, job search strategist, and career advisor who helps individuals worldwide and in various professions to find their ideal careers.
"Ipconfig stands for Internet Protocol Configuration. It is a command used on Microsoft Windows to view and configure a network interface. Ipconfig displays all TCP/IP network summary information available on the network. It also helps to modify the DHCP protocol and DNS setting. Ifconfig stands for Interface Configuration. It is similar to Ipconfig but is used on Linux, Mac, and UNIX operating systems from the CLI or Command Line Interface. It allows you to see the IP addresses of all the network interfaces."
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Ipconfig is used on Windows machines, while ifconfig is used on Linux machines. They essentially give the same types of information, which are IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway. Additional add ons to these will exhibit more information, such as mac address.
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