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Diagnostic utilities

The following table lists TCP/IP diagnostic utilities. You can use these utilities to help identify or resolve TCP/IP networking problems.

Utility Description
Arp Allows viewing and editing of the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) cache. The ARP cache contains software-to-hardware address mappings that are used for sending data on the local network. For more information, see Arp and Troubleshooting hardware addresses by using arp.
Hostname Displays the host name of the computer as used for authentication by the Rcp, Rsh, and Rexec utilities. For more information, see Hostname.
Ipconfig Displays current TCP/IP configuration values. Also used to manually release and renew a TCP/IP configuration lease assigned by a DHCP server and to reset DNS name registrations. For more information, see Ipconfig and Command-line utilities.
Lpq Displays print queue status information on computers running Line Printer Daemon (LPD) print server software. For more information, see Lpq.
Nbtstat Checks the state of current NetBIOS over TCP/IP connections, updates the Lmhosts cache, and determines the registered names and scope ID. For more information, see Nbtstat and Troubleshooting NetBIOS names by using nbtstat.
Netsh Displays and administers TCP/IP protocol settings on either the local computer or a remote computer. For more information, see Netsh commands for Interface IP.
Netstat Displays protocol statistics and information on current TCP/IP connections. For more information, see Netstat and Displaying connection statistics by using netstat.
Nslookup Checks records, domain host aliases, domain host services, and operating system information by querying DNS server. For more information, see Nslookup and Verify DNS registration for domain controllers using the nslookup command.
Ping Verifies whether TCP/IP is configured correctly and tests connectivity to other host systems. For more information, see Ping and Testing connections by using ping.
Route Allows viewing and editing of the local IP routing table. For more information, see Route.
Tracert Traces the network route taken by an IP datagram to its destination. For more information, see Tracert and Tracing network connections by using tracert.
Pathping Traces the route a packet takes to a destination and displays information on packet losses for each router in the path. Pathping can also be used to troubleshoot Quality of Service (QoS) connectivity. For more information, see Testing routers by using pathping.

The following table lists additional administrative utilities you can use for TCP/IP troubleshooting:

Administrative tool Description
SNMP service Provides statistical information to SNMP management systems.
Event Viewer Tracks errors and events.
Performance Logs and Alerts Analyzes TCP/IP core protocol performance when the SNMP service is installed.
Network Monitor Captures and analyzes TCP/IP to and from computers running Windows Server 2003 operating systems.
Registry Editor Allows viewing and editing of registry settings.