Python script to check if current IP address is from DHCP or static

Question

How to check if eth address is taken from DHCP or set manually (static) using Python?

Answer 1

I think it's going to depend on how the network is configured. Network connections in Ubuntu are either configured for the computer, or by the individual user through Network Manager (that little network icon in your notification area). Servers are generally configured system-wide from /etc, while desktops are configured by Network Manager.

If it's a system-wide configuration, you can parse /etc/network/interfaces.

If the network was configured by Network Manager on the desktop, you can interface with it. You can find an example Python script that prints connections from the Network Manager examples.

There might be a lower-level way of finding out whether any particular interface is dhcp, but I don't know of it.