PowerShell Commands Used for Network Troubleshooting

Here’s a solid toolbox of Windows PowerShell commands used for network troubleshooting, with quick notes on what each one is good for.

I’ll try to group them by task so they are a little easier to remember.

1. Basic Connectivity & “Ping-Style” Tests

Test-Connection

PowerShell’s ping (ICMP echo) equivalent.

• Quick ICMP test: Test-Connection 8.8.8.8
• More detail (count, delay, etc.): Test-Connection -ComputerName 8.8.8.8 -Count 4 -Quiet

Test-NetConnection

More advanced tester: port check + traceroute + ping.

• Simple ping-like test: Test-NetConnection google.com
• Test specific TCP port (great for web, RDP, etc.): Test-NetConnection google.com -Port 443 Test-NetConnection server01 -Port 3389
• Show route info: Test-NetConnection 8.8.8.8 -TraceRoute

2. IP Configuration & Adapters (PowerShell version of ipconfig)

Get-NetIPConfiguration

High-level view: similar to ipconfig /all but object-based.

Get-NetIPConfiguration
Get-NetIPConfiguration -Detailed

Get-NetIPAddress

Show IP addresses bound to interfaces.

Get-NetIPAddress
Get-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet"

New-NetIPAddress, Set-NetIPAddress, Remove-NetIPAddress

Create, change, or remove IPs (static configs).

New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -IPAddress 192.168.1.50 -PrefixLength 24 -DefaultGateway 192.168.1.1

Get-NetRoute

View routing table (PowerShell version of route print).

Get-NetRoute
Get-NetRoute -DestinationPrefix 0.0.0.0/0   # default routes

Get-NetAdapter

See physical/logical adapters and status.

Get-NetAdapter
Get-NetAdapter -Name "Ethernet" | Format-List

Restart-NetAdapter

Bounce an interface (like disabling/enabling in GUI).

Restart-NetAdapter -Name "Ethernet" -Confirm:$false

3. DNS & Name Resolution

Resolve-DnsName

PowerShell replacement for nslookup.

Resolve-DnsName google.com
Resolve-DnsName google.com -Type MX
Resolve-DnsName 8.8.8.8 -Type PTR   # reverse lookup

Get-DnsClientServerAddress

See what DNS servers a client is using.

Get-DnsClientServerAddress
Get-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet"

Get-DnsClientCache / Clear-DnsClientCache

View and flush the local DNS resolver cache.

Get-DnsClientCache
Clear-DnsClientCache

4. Connections, Ports & Sessions (PowerShell replacement for netstat)

Get-NetTCPConnection

View active TCP sessions and listening ports.

Get-NetTCPConnection
Get-NetTCPConnection -State Listen
Get-NetTCPConnection -RemotePort 443

Get-NetUDPEndpoint

Show UDP listeners/endpoints.

Get-NetUDPEndpoint

Combine with process info:

Get-NetTCPConnection | Group-Object -Property State
Get-NetTCPConnection | Where-Object { $_.LocalPort -eq 3389 }

5. Neighbor / ARP & MAC-Level Stuff

Get-NetNeighbor

PowerShell view of ARP/neighbor table (IPv4 & IPv6).

Get-NetNeighbor
Get-NetNeighbor -State Reachable

Get-NetAdapterStatistics

Per-NIC counters: bytes, packets, errors, discards.

Get-NetAdapterStatistics

Great for spotting errors on a specific NIC.

6. Network Profile, Firewall & Sharing

Get-NetConnectionProfile

Shows network profile (Domain / Private / Public).

Get-NetConnectionProfile

Useful when firewall is tight on “Public” and breaking things.

Get-NetFirewallProfile / Set-NetFirewallProfile

Check and adjust firewall profiles.

Get-NetFirewallProfile

Get-NetFirewallRule

See firewall rules that might be blocking a port/app.

Get-NetFirewallRule
Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "*Remote Desktop*"

7. Wireless & Network Diagnostics (using PowerShell to drive other tools)

These are not native PowerShell cmdlets, but you commonly call them from PowerShell:

netsh wlan

Wi-Fi profiles, signal, etc.

netsh wlan show interfaces
netsh wlan show networks mode=bssid

ipconfig / tracert / arp / nslookup

Classic commands, still very useful, and you can wrap/parse them in PowerShell:

ipconfig /all
tracert 8.8.8.8
arp -a
nslookup google.com

8. Advanced / Event-Based Troubleshooting

These are more advanced, but good to know they exist.

New-NetEventSession, Add-NetEventProvider, Start-NetEventSession

Used to trace and capture network events (more advanced, similar to using ETW).

New-NetEventSession -Name "NetTrace"
# then add providers, start, stop, etc.

9. Useful Patterns Techs Actually Use

A few patterns you might find yourself using a lot:

Check if a host is reachable and port open:

Test-NetConnection server01 -Port 445

See what’s listening on a port:

Get-NetTCPConnection -LocalPort 3389

Quick “PowerShell ipconfig+route+DNS” snapshot:

Get-NetIPConfiguration
Get-NetRoute
Get-DnsClientServerAddress

Look for NIC errors:

Get-NetAdapterStatistics | Format-Table Name, ReceivedErrors, OutboundErrors

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