You don't "read" routers. You choose an ip on the network (or have it chosen for you with dhcp; that works too), set up a DNS, set your default gateway, and you're home free. Every OS that counts can do that.
Here's some handy commands you might need, though, to get network working:
$ dmesg | grep eth
--> eth0, eth1, etc. are the name of your network cards. If nothing is returned, then your ethernet card wasn't recognized (Google to find out how to get drivers; dlink, linksys, and most other major brands work out of the box). If something IS returned, it's likely your video card. eth0 is the most common.
ron@tank:~$ dmesg | grep eth
eth0: Station identity 001f:0009:0001:0004
eth0: Looks like an Intersil firmware version 1.4.9
eth0: Ad-hoc demo mode supported
eth0: IEEE standard IBSS ad-hoc mode supported
eth0: WEP supported, 104-bit key
eth0: MAC address 00:50:F2:7A:C7:FD
eth0: Station name "Prism I"
eth0: ready
eth0: index 0x01: Vcc 5.0, irq 3, io 0x0140-0x017f
To configure eth0 automatically, run netconfig:
$ netconfig
And follow the steps.
To configure your network cards manually, edit the file /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf:
$ pico /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf
Then reboot
If you need to grab a dynamic ip, use dhcpcd:
$ dhcpcd -d eth0 -t 10
(replacing eth0 with whatever ip you need). It should say your mac address, then an ip. If it times out without getting an ip, then your ethernet cable probably isn't plugged in.
If you want to see what your ip and stuff is, just run ifconfig
$ifconfig -a
If you need to grab a static ip, you use ifconfig and route:
$ifconfig eth0 [ip] netmask 255.255.255.0 broadcast [broadcast]
For example:
$ifconfig eth0 192.168.1.2 netmask 255.255.255.0 broadcast 192.168.1.255
[broadcast will usually be your ip with .255 at the end]
That will only use that ip until you reboot.
I know I'm making this look a little complicated, but it really isn't. Generally, run netconfig, reboot, and that's it.