Deprecated Linux networking commands and their replacements
In my article detailing the command line utilities available for configuring and troubleshooting network properties on Windows and Linux, I mentioned some Linux tools that, while still included and functional in many Linux distributions, are actually considered deprecated and therefore should be phased out in favor of more modern replacements.
Specifically, the deprecated Linux networking commands in question are: arp, ifconfig, iptunnel, iwconfig, nameif,netstat, and route. These programs (except iwconfig) are included in the net-tools package that has been unmaintained for years. The functionality provided by several of these utilities has been reproduced and improved in the new iproute2suite, primarily by using its new ip command. The iproute2 software code and documentation are available from theLinux Foundation.
Deprecated command |
Replacement command(s) |
|---|---|
| arp | ip n (ip neighbor) |
| ifconfig | ip a (ip addr), ip link, ip -s (ip -stats) |
| iptunnel | ip tunnel |
| iwconfig | iw |
| nameif | ip link, ifrename |
| netstat | ss, ip route (for netstat-r), ip -s link (for netstat -i), ip maddr (for netstat-g) |
| route | ip r (ip route) |
.
Now let’s take a closer look at these deprecated commands and their replacements.
This article will not focus on iproute2 or the ip command in detail; instead it will simply give one-to-one mappings between the deprecated commands and their new counterparts. For replacement commands that are listed as ‘not apparent’, please contact me if you know otherwise.
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Please note that nslookup and dig are covered separately here.