Ethtool Command Reference
Ethtool Command Cheat-Sheet for Network Interface Management
The ethtool utility is a powerful command-line tool for configuring and displaying information about network interfaces in Linux. This cheat-sheet provides a quick reference for common ethtool commands, categorized for easy access.
Displaying Network Interface Information
Use the following commands to retrieve detailed information about your network interfaces and their configurations.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
ethtool <interface> |
Display general information about a specific network interface. |
ethtool -i <interface> |
Display driver information, including firmware version and bus info. |
ethtool -a <interface> |
Display all current settings for the interface. |
ethtool -k <interface> |
Display offload settings, such as checksum offloading. |
ethtool -c <interface> |
Display coalescing settings, which control interrupt frequency. |
ethtool -g <interface> |
Display ring buffer settings, crucial for packet processing performance. |
ethtool -l <interface> |
Display large receive offload (LRO) settings. |
ethtool -S <interface> |
Display detailed statistics for the network interface, including errors and dropped packets. |
ethtool -t <interface> |
Perform tests on the network interface to check offloading capabilities. |
ethtool -T <interface> |
Display time stamping settings, important for network monitoring and analysis. |
ethtool -x <interface> |
Display channel settings, including interrupt and DMA channel configurations. |
ethtool -P <interface> |
Display the permanent MAC address of the network interface. |
ethtool -u <interface> |
Display bus information, such as PCI device details. |
ethtool -d <interface> |
Display a register dump of the network interface controller. |
Setting Network Interface Parameters
Modify and configure your network interface settings using these ethtool commands. Note that some settings may require root privileges.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
ethtool -G <interface> |
Set ring buffer settings (e.g., number of RX/TX descriptors). |
ethtool -L <interface> |
Set large receive offload (LRO) settings. |
ethtool -A <interface> |
Set pause parameters for flow control. |
ethtool -C <interface> |
Set coalescing settings to adjust interrupt rates. |
ethtool -K <interface> |
Set offload settings, enabling or disabling features like checksum offloading. |
ethtool -N <interface> |
Set offload settings, often related to specific hardware features. |
ethtool -p <interface> |
Blink the LED on the network interface to help identify it physically. |
ethtool -r <interface> |
Reset the network interface to its default settings. |