Iproute2
Suite of computer networking utilities
title: "Iproute2" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["linux-network-related-software", "linux-configuration-utilities", "linux-only-free-software", "routing", "internet-protocol-based-network-software", "network-performance"] description: "Suite of computer networking utilities" topic_path: "technology/networking" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iproute2" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Suite of computer networking utilities ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox software"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| title | iproute2 |
| screenshot | Ip addr example screenshot.png |
| caption | Screenshot of ip addr in Linux |
| author | Alexey Kuznetsov |
| developer | Stephen Hemminger |
| latest release version | |
| latest release date | |
| latest preview date | |
| programming language | C |
| operating system | Linux |
| genre | Networking |
| license | GPLv2 |
| website | |
| :: |
| title = iproute2
| screenshot = Ip addr example screenshot.png
| caption = Screenshot of ip addr in Linux
| name =
| author = Alexey Kuznetsov
| developer = Stephen Hemminger
| latest release version =
| latest release date =
| latest preview version =
| latest preview date =
| programming language = C
| operating system = Linux
| genre = Networking
| license = GPLv2
| website =
iproute2 is a collection of userspace utilities for controlling and monitoring various aspects of networking in the Linux kernel, including routing, network interfaces, tunnels, traffic control, and network-related device drivers.
Project
iproute2 is an open-source project released under the terms of version 2 of the GNU General Public License. Its development is closely tied to the development of networking components of the Linux kernel. , iproute2 is maintained by Stephen Hemminger and David Ahern. The original author, Alexey Kuznetsov, was responsible for the quality of service (QoS) implementation in the Linux kernel.{{cite web |url = https://wiki.linuxfoundation.org/networking/iproute2 |title = Introduction to iproute2 |date = November 19, 2009 |accessdate = July 15, 2019 |publisher = The Linux Foundation |df = mdy-all
iproute2 collection contains the following command-line utilities: arpd, bridge, ctstat, dcb, devlink, ip, lnstat, nstat, rdma, routef, routel, rtacct, rtmon, rtstat, ss, tc, tipc and vdpa. | url=https://packages.debian.org/sid/amd64/iproute2/filelist | title=list of the Debian package iproute2 | work=Debian}} tc is used for traffic control. iproute2 utilities communicate with the Linux kernel using the netlink protocol. Some of the iproute2 utilities are often recommended over now-obsolete net-tools utilities that provide the same functionality.{{cite web | url = https://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2009/03/msg00780.html | title = net-tools future | date = March 15, 2009 | accessdate = March 21, 2019 | author = Martín Ferrari | website = debian.org | url=https://wiki.linuxfoundation.org/networking/net-tools | title=net-tools | publisher=The Linux Foundation}} Below is a table of obsolete utilities and their iproute2 replacements.
::data[format=table title="Utilities obsoleted by iproute2"]
| Legacy utility | Replacement command | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Address and link configuration | ||
| Routing tables | ||
| Neighbors | ||
| activate interface | ||
| Tunnels | ||
| Rename network interfaces | ||
| Multicast | ||
| Show various networking statistics | ||
| Handle bridge addresses and devices | ||
| :: |
References
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::