[dmm]

On OpenBSD, all of your interface configuration is done with ifconfig and it's all documented with 'man ifconfig'.

On a linux system 'man ifconfig' doesn't even mention iwconfig or wpa_supplicant.

I think that makes it a little easier to learn how to do it.

[levabalkin]

I guess in Linux ifconfig is deprecated in favor of iproute2.

[ghshephard]

Another advantage to OpenBSD - For at least the last 10 years, configuring a network interface has been done through ifconfig.

I'm willing to wager that 10 years from now - configuring an interface will still be done through ifconfig.

[wazoox]

It's a mistake IMO for old hats like myself. After 20 years using ifconfig, it's almost impossible to get used to some new, linux-only tool (even though it may be better).

[adestefan]

It's pretty rare that you actually need to use ifconfig/ip directly in Linux. For every distribution that I know of there's a specific way to setup network interfaces (e.g. /etc/network/interfaces, /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-*, etc.)

[sigzero]

Really? No Linux SA that I know...and I know a lot...is using iproute2 over ifconfig.

[CrLf]

The "ip" command has been the preferred way to configure network interfaces in Linux for a few years now. Most functionality isn't available through "ifconfig" at all.