Quoting Thomas Pircher's website (cc-by-sa):

ifconfig vs ip

The command /bin/ip has been around for some time now. But people continue using the older command /sbin/ifconfig . Let's be clear: ifconfig will not quickly go away, but its newer version, ip , is more powerful and will eventually replace it.

The man page of ip may look intimidating at first, but once you get familiar with the command syntax, it is an easy read. This page will not introduce the new features of ip. It rather features a side-by-side comparison if ifconfig and ip to get a quick overview of the command syntax.

Show network devices and configuration

ifconfig ip addr show ip link show

Enable a network interface

ifconfig eth0 up ip link set eth0 up

A network interface is disabled in a similar way: