ethtool is the primary means in Linux kernel-based operating systems (primarily Linux and Android) for displaying and modifying the parameters of network interface controllers (NICs) and their associated device driver software from application programs running in userspace. Most Linux distributions provide a standard utility program called ethtool that can be used from a shell to control, or gather information from NICs using the ethtool userspace API. In the Information technology community, the term ethtool is usually used to refer to this utility program.