java.net

Class NetworkInterface

java.lang.Object

java.net.NetworkInterface

public final class NetworkInterface
extends java.lang.Object

This class represents a Network Interface made up of a name, and a list of IP addresses assigned to this interface. It is used to identify the local interface on which a multicast group is joined. Interfaces are normally known by names such as "le0".

Since:

1.4

Method Summary

Modifier and Type	Method and Description
boolean	equals(java.lang.Object obj) Compares this object against the specified object.
static NetworkInterface	getByInetAddress(InetAddress addr) Convenience method to search for a network interface that has the specified Internet Protocol (IP) address bound to it.
static NetworkInterface	getByName(java.lang.String name) Searches for the network interface with the specified name.
java.lang.String	getDisplayName() Get the display name of this network interface.
byte[]	getHardwareAddress() Returns the hardware address (usually MAC) of the interface if it has one and if it can be accessed given the current privileges.
java.util.Enumeration<InetAddress>	getInetAddresses() Convenience method to return an Enumeration with all or a subset of the InetAddresses bound to this network interface.
java.lang.String	getName() Get the name of this network interface.
static java.util.Enumeration<NetworkInterface>	getNetworkInterfaces() Returns all the interfaces on this machine.
int	hashCode()
boolean	isLoopback() Returns whether a network interface is a loopback interface.
boolean	isUp() Returns whether a network interface is up and running.
boolean	supportsMulticast() Returns whether a network interface supports multicasting or not.
java.lang.String	toString()

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

clone, getClass, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait

Method Detail

getName

public java.lang.String getName()

Get the name of this network interface.

Returns:

the name of this network interface

getInetAddresses

public java.util.Enumeration<InetAddress> getInetAddresses()

Convenience method to return an Enumeration with all or a subset of the InetAddresses bound to this network interface.

If there is a security manager, its checkConnect method is called for each InetAddress. Only InetAddresses where the checkConnect doesn't throw a SecurityException will be returned in the Enumeration.

Returns:

an Enumeration object with all or a subset of the InetAddresses bound to this network interface

getDisplayName

public java.lang.String getDisplayName()

Get the display name of this network interface. A display name is a human readable String describing the network device.

Returns:

a non-empty string representing the display name of this network interface, or null if no display name is available.

getByName

public static NetworkInterface getByName(java.lang.String name)
                                  throws SocketException

Searches for the network interface with the specified name.

Parameters:

name - The name of the network interface.

Returns:

A NetworkInterface with the specified name, or null if there is no network interface with the specified name.

Throws:

SocketException - If an I/O error occurs.

java.lang.NullPointerException - If the specified name is null.

getByInetAddress

public static NetworkInterface getByInetAddress(InetAddress addr)
                                         throws SocketException

Convenience method to search for a network interface that has the specified Internet Protocol (IP) address bound to it.

If the specified IP address is bound to multiple network interfaces it is not defined which network interface is returned.

Parameters:

addr - The InetAddress to search with.

Returns:

A NetworkInterface or null if there is no network interface with the specified IP address.

Throws:

SocketException - If an I/O error occurs.

java.lang.NullPointerException - If the specified address is null.

getNetworkInterfaces

public static java.util.Enumeration<NetworkInterface> getNetworkInterfaces()
                                                                    throws SocketException

Returns all the interfaces on this machine. Returns null if no network interfaces could be found on this machine. NOTE: can use getNetworkInterfaces()+getInetAddresses() to obtain all IP addresses for this node

Returns:

an Enumeration of NetworkInterfaces found on this machine

Throws:

SocketException - if an I/O error occurs.

isUp

public boolean isUp()
             throws SocketException

Returns whether a network interface is up and running.

Returns:

true if the interface is up and running.

Throws:

SocketException - if an I/O error occurs.

Since:

1.6

isLoopback

public boolean isLoopback()
                   throws SocketException

Returns whether a network interface is a loopback interface.

Returns:

true if the interface is a loopback interface.

Throws:

SocketException - if an I/O error occurs.

Since:

1.6

supportsMulticast

public boolean supportsMulticast()
                          throws SocketException

Returns whether a network interface supports multicasting or not.

Returns:

true if the interface supports Multicasting.

Throws:

SocketException - if an I/O error occurs.

Since:

1.6

getHardwareAddress

public byte[] getHardwareAddress()
                          throws SocketException

Returns the hardware address (usually MAC) of the interface if it has one and if it can be accessed given the current privileges.

Returns:

a byte array containing the address, or null if the address doesn't exist, is not accessible.

Throws:

SocketException - if an I/O error occurs.

Since:

1.6

equals

public boolean equals(java.lang.Object obj)

Compares this object against the specified object. The result is true if and only if the argument is not null and it represents the same NetworkInterface as this object.

Two instances of NetworkInterface represent the same NetworkInterface if both name and addrs are the same for both.

Overrides:

equals in class java.lang.Object

Parameters:

obj - the object to compare against.

Returns:

true if the objects are the same; false otherwise.

See Also:

InetAddress.getAddress()

hashCode

public int hashCode()

Overrides:

hashCode in class java.lang.Object

toString

public java.lang.String toString()

Overrides:

toString in class java.lang.Object