ether_ntohost - Linux

Overview

ether_ntohost converts an Ethernet address from network byte order (big-endian) to host byte order (little-endian) or vice versa. It’s primarily utilized in networking applications and system administration for manipulating Ethernet addresses.

Syntax

ether_ntohost [OPTION]... ETHER_ADDR

Options/Flags

• -n, –ntohost: Convert from network byte order to host byte order. (Default)
• -h, –hosttonet: Convert from host byte order to network byte order.

Examples

Convert from network byte order to host byte order:

ether_ntohost 00:11:22:33:44:55

Convert from host byte order to network byte order:

ether_ntohost -h 55:44:33:22:11:00

Common Issues

Invalid Ethernet address: Ensure the input is a valid Ethernet address in the format XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX.

Integration

Extract and convert Ethernet address from a network interface using Bash:

interface=eth0
ether_addr=$(ip link show $interface | grep ether | awk '{print $2}')
converted_addr=$(ether_ntohost $ether_addr)
echo "Host byte order Ethernet address: $converted_addr"

Related Commands

• ifconfig: Network interface configuration tool.
• arp: Address Resolution Protocol tool.
• ethtool: Ethernet device monitoring and control utility.