mii-tool

mii-tool [-v] [-w] [-r] [-i ] [interface ...]

-v
    Verbose mode; displays more detailed information.

-w
    Watch mode; continuously monitors and displays link status changes.

-r
    Reset MII/PHY; attempts to reset the MII/PHY of the specified interface.

-i
    Specifies the interval (in seconds) for watch mode updates.

interface ...
    Specifies the network interface(s) to examine/manipulate (e.g., eth0, eth1).

The mii-tool command is a utility for examining and manipulating the Media Independent Interface (MII) or Gigabit Media Independent Interface (GMII) status of Ethernet network interfaces.
It allows users to query the link status, speed, and duplex settings of network cards and to force specific configurations.
It is primarily useful for debugging network connectivity problems and ensuring proper link negotiation between devices.
However, it is important to note that mii-tool is considered deprecated and largely superseded by the `ethtool` command, which offers more comprehensive functionality.

The `mii-tool` command is deprecated. Use `ethtool` instead. Many modern network drivers do not fully support the features of `mii-tool`.

mii-tool eth0 : Displays the MII status of the eth0 interface.
mii-tool -v eth0 : Displays verbose MII status information for eth0.
mii-tool -r eth0 : Attempts to reset the MII/PHY of eth0.

mii-tool was initially developed to provide a simple way to check and manage the link status of Ethernet interfaces. It was widely used in earlier Linux distributions. With the advent of more sophisticated network hardware and drivers, and the need for broader control over network interface settings, `ethtool` emerged as a more powerful and versatile replacement, leading to the deprecation of `mii-tool`.

ethtool(8), ifconfig(8)