why does “ipconfig getifaddr ppp0” fail?

Question

I am trying to find my IP on VPN (PPTP) so I tried "ipconfig getifaddr ppp0" but it gave me "get if addr ppp0 failed, (os/kern) failure." Why does it fail and what should I do instead? ifconfig shows all my interfaces just fine, and with the IP. "ipconfig getifaddr en1" works too. I am on a Mac if that makes any difference.

Thanks!

Answer 1

it probably fails because you have no ip address on that interface. this is what happens i try to get the ip on en0 (ethernet) and en1 (wifi)

localhost:~ > ipconfig getifaddr en0
get if addr en0 failed, (os/kern) failure

localhost:~ > ipconfig getifaddr en1
192.168.1.120