arch linux net-tools or iproute2 what is the better choice

[ichase]

Just an opinion question. I know that net-tools in Arch Linux is depricated and the recommended alternative is iproute2. But with a basic network and not to mention being used to using command lines such as ifconfig, is installing net-tools still sufficiant?

 

Like I said, this is just an opinion question. Kinda like the Grub Legacy and Grub2 question I am sure it all comes down to personal preference.

[securitybreach]

Well I am not really for sure but I do have both packages installed. I normally just have it set up via rc.conf but I do use networking utils sometimes. Of course, dnsutils provides a lot of those utils.

 

╔═ comhack@Cerberus 09:59 AM 
╚═══ ~-> pacman -Qi iproute2 | grep Install
Installed Size : 1652.00 KiB
Install Date   : Tue 21 Aug 2012 02:29:59 PM CDT
Install Reason : Installed as a dependency for another package
Install Script : No

╔═ comhack@Cerberus 09:59 AM 
╚═══ ~-> pacman -Qi net-tools | grep Install
Installed Size : 544.00 KiB
Install Date   : Wed 15 Aug 2012 01:47:50 PM CDT
Install Reason : Explicitly installed
Install Script : Yes

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Don't use either. Have no opinion, alas.

[Guest LilBambi]

From The Linux Foundation article about net-tools:

 

A collection of programs that form the base set of the NET-3 networking distribution for the Linux operating system. This package includes arp(8), hostname(1), ifconfig(8), ipmaddr, iptunnel, mii-tool(8), nameif(8), netstat(8), plipconfig(8), rarp(8), route(8) and slattach(8).

• Maintainers: Bernd Eckenfels, Phil Blundell
  
• Current Version: net-tools 1.60 (see upstream git for updates)
  

Please keep in mind that most net-tools programs are obsolete now

 

And also from The Linux Foundation article iproute2:

 

Iproute2 is a collection of utilities for controlling TCP / IP networking and traffic control in Linux. It is currently maintained by Stephen Hemminger . The original author, Alexey Kuznetsov, is well known for the QoS implementation in the Linux kernel.

 

Most network configuration manuals still refer to ifconfig and route as the primary network configuration tools, but ifconfig is known to behave inadequately in modern network environments.

 

They should be deprecated, but most distros still include them. Most network configuration systems make use of ifconfig and thus provide a limited feature set. The /etc/net project aims to support most modern network technologies, as it doesn't use ifconfig and allows a system administrator to make use of all iproute2 features, including traffic control.

 

iproute2 is usually shipped in a package called iproute or iproute2 and consists of several tools, of which the most important are ip and tc. ip controls IPv4 and IPv6 configuration and tc stands for traffic control. Both tools print detailed usage messages and are accompanied by a set of manpages.

 

Download

 

The current version is in the download directory on kernel.org.

 

New versions will be announced on the netdev mailing list.

 

The current iproute2 source is maintained in the GIT repository. To get the current source use:

$ git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/shemminger/iproute2.git

You can also browse the source online via gitweb.

 

Here we go ... things they be a'changin'

 

IPROUTE2 Utility Suite Documentation/HowTo

 

Personally, I still use net-tools. I haven't seen any problems with it ... yet.

[ichase]

Great feeback. It is always good to get different opinions. I have been used to net-tools but as you said Fran

...things they be a'changin'

with a nice clean install on this new server, might not be a bad idea to forge forward and start using iproute2.