Task-centered iproute2 user guide released for Linux networking commands

Introduction to iproute2

iproute2 is the standard Linux networking toolkit, having superseded older utilities such as `ifconfig`, `vconfig`, `brctl`, `route`, and `arp`. These legacy tools are now primarily retained for compatibility with existing scripts and do not support many newer Linux kernel networking features. The toolkit was originally developed by Alex Kuznetsov and is currently maintained by Stephen Hemminger.

Purpose of the New Guide

Historically, comprehensive documentation with practical examples for iproute2 has been limited, with official man pages primarily listing options without usage scenarios. This new document aims to fill that gap by offering a task-centered approach to using the `ip` and `bridge` commands, along with some information on `ss`. It focuses on demonstrating how to accomplish specific networking tasks rather than just listing available subcommands.

Availability and Contribution

The guide is maintained by Daniil Baturin and is distributed under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 license. Contributions to the document are welcomed, with source files available on GitHub at github.com/dmbaturin/iproute2-cheatsheet. The document is provided without warranty, emphasizing user responsibility when executing commands that modify system settings.

Command Privileges and Configuration

Commands within iproute2 that alter system settings require root privileges. Commands that only display information generally do not need special permissions. Configuration files for iproute2, primarily used for assigning symbolic names to network entities like routing tables, are located in `/etc/iproute2`.